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http://www.archive.org/details/cubaoldnewOOrobirich 


CUBA 

OLD  AND  NEW 


TOWER     OF     LA     FUERZA 

Havana 


CUBA 

OLD  AND   NEW 


BY 

ALBERT  G.   ROBINSON 

•       (A.G.R.) 

AUTHOR    OF    "  CUBA    AND    THE    INTERVENTION, 

"the  PHILIPPINES:  THE  WAR  AND  THE  PEOPLE, 

"the    PORTO    RICO    OF   TODAY,"    ETC.,    ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 
BY  THE  AUTHOR 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,  AND   CO. 

FOURTH  AVENUE  &  3OTH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

LONDON,  BOMBAY,  CALCUTTA,  AND  MADRAS 

I9IS 


F)758 


X^ 


u: 


COPYRIGHT,    1915 
BY    LONGMANS,    GREEN,   AND   CO. 


n     i 

see 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Old  Cuba i 

II.     New  Cuba 19 

III.  The  Country 37 

IV.  The  Old  Havana 54 

V.     The  New  Havana 70 

VI.     Around  the  Island 87 

VII.  Around  the   Island   (Continued)     .      .      .  105 

VIII.  The  United  States  and  Cuba      .      .      .122 

IX.     Cuba's  Revolutions 141 

X.     Independence 162 

XI.     Filibustering 184 

.  XII.     The  Story  of  Sugar 203 

XIII.  Various  Products  and  Industries     .      .  218 

XIV.  Politics,  Government,  and  Commerce     .  236 


30d: 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tower  of  La  Fuerza,  Havana Frontispiece 

The  Morro,  Havana Facing  page       6 

A  Planter's  Home,  Havana  Province 31 

Iron  Grille  Gateway,  El  Vedado,  suburb  of  Havana      .     34 
Watering  Herd  of  Cattle,  Luyano  River,  near  Havana     47 

Royal  Palms 50 

Custom  House,  Havana 63 

Balconies,  Old  Havana 66 

Street  in  Havana 66 

Street  and  Church  of  the  Angels,  Havana     ....     77 

A  Residence  in  El  Vedado 84 

The  Volante  (now  quite  rare) 91 

A  Village  Street,  Calvario,  Havana  Province       .      .      .    102 

Street  and  Church,  Camaguey 109 

Cobre,  Oriente  Province 116 

Hoisting  the  Cuban  Flag  over  the  Palace,  May  20,  1902  137 

A  Spanish  Block  House 152 

Along  the  Harbor  Wall,  Havana 173 

Country  Road,  Havana  Province 180 

Street  in  Camaguey 221 

Palm-Thatched  Roofs 228 

A  Peasant's  Home 228 


CUBA 

OLD  AND   NEW 

I 

OLD  CUBA 

HRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  was  a  man  of 
lively  imagination.  Had  he  been  an  ordi- 
nary, prosaic  and  plodding  individual,  he 
would  have  stayed  at  home  combing  wool  as  did  his 
prosaic  and  plodding  ancestors  for  several  genera- 
tions. At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  sea  and 
soon  developed  an  adive  curiosity  about  regions 
then  unknown  but  believed  to  exist.  There  was 
even  then  some  knowledge  of  western  Asia,  and 
even  of  China  as  approached  from  the  west.  Two 
and  two  being  properly  put  together,  the  result  was 
a  reasonable  argument  that  China  and  India  could 
be  reached  from  the  other  diredlion,  that  is,  by  going 
westward  instead  of  eastward. 

In  the  early  autumn  of  the  year  1492,  Columbus 
was  busy  discovering  islands  in  the  Caribbean  Sea 
region,  and,  incidentally,  seeking  for  the  richest  of 
the  group.  From  dwellers  on  other  islands,  he 
heard  of  one,  called  Cubanacan,  larger  and  richer 
than  any  that  he  had  then  discovered.     A  mixture 


;  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

of  those  tales  with  his  own  vivid  imagination  pro- 
duced a  belief  in  a  country  of  wide  extent,  vastly 
rich  in  gold  and  gems,  and  already  a  centre  of  an 
extensive  commerce.  Cruising  in  search  of  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  he  sighted 
the  shore  of  Cuba  on  the  morning  of  Odlober  28, 
1492.  His  journal,  under  date  of  Odlober  24,  states: 
"At  midnight  I  tripped  my  anchors  off  this  Caho 
del  Isleo  de  Isabella,  where  I  was  pitched  to  go  to 
the  island  of  Cuba,  which  I  learn  from  these  people 
is  very  large  and  magnificent,  and  there  are  gold 
and  spices  in  it,  and  large  ships  and  merchants. 
And  so  I  think  it  must  be  the  island  of  Cipango 
(Japan),  of  which  they  tell  such  wonders."  The 
record,  under  date  of  Sunday,  28th  of  October, 
states:  "Continued  for  the  nearest  land  of  Cuba, 
and  entered  a  beautiful  estuary,  clear  of  rocks  and 
other  dangers.  The  mouth  of  the  estuary  had 
twelve  fathoms  depth,  and  it  was  wide  enough  for 
a  ship  to  work  into."  Students  have  disagreed 
regarding  the  first  Cuban  port  entered  by  Columbus. 
There  is  general  acceptance  of  Odober  28  as  the  date 
of  arrival.  Some  contend  that  on  that  day  he  en- 
tered Nipe  Bay,  while  others,  and  apparently  the 
greater  number,  locate  the  spot  somewhat  to  the 
west  of  Nuevitas.  Wherever  he  first  landed  on  it, 
there  is  agreement  that  he  called  the  island  Juana, 
in  honor  of  Prince  Juan,  taking  possession  "in  the 
name  of  Christ,  Our  Lady,  and  the  reigning  Sov- 
ereigns   of   Spain." 


OLD  CUBA  3 

His  record  of  the  landing  place  is  obscure.  It 
is  known  that  he  sailed  some  leagues  beyond  it,  to 
the  westward.  While  on  board  his  caravel,  on  his 
homeward  voyage,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  friend, 
Don  Rafael  Sanchez,  "Treasurer  of  their  most  Serene 
Highnesses,''  in  which  the  experience  is  described. 
The  original  letter  is  lost,  but  it  was  translated  into 
Latin  and  published  in  Barcelona  in  the  following 
year,  1493.  While  the  Latin  form  is  variously 
translated  into  English,  the  general  tenor  of  all  is 
the  same.  He  wrote:  "When  I  arrived  at  Juana 
(Cuba),  I  sailed  along  the  coast  to  the  west,  dis- 
covering so  great  an  extent  of  land  that  I  could  not 
imagine  it  to  be  an  island,  but  the  continent  of 
Cathay.  I  did  not,  however,  discover  upon  the  coast 
any  large  cities,  all  we  saw  being  a  few  villages  and 
farms,  with  the  inhabitants  of  which  we  could  not 
obtain  any  communication,  they  flying  at  our  ap- 
proach. I  continued  my  course,  still  expelling  to 
meet  with  some  town  or  city,  but  after  having  gone 
a  great  distance  and  not  meeting  with  any,  and 
finding  myself  proceeding  toward  the  north,  which 
I  was  desirous  to  avoid  on  account  of  the  cold,  and, 
moreover,  meeting  with  a  contrary  wind,  I  deter- 
mined to  return  to  the  south,  and  therefore  put 
about  and  sailed  back  to  a  harbor  which  I  had 
before  observed."  That  the  adlual  landing  was  at 
or  near  the  present  port  of  Nuevitas  seems  to  be 
generally  accepted. 

Columbus  appears  to  have  been  greatly  impressed 


4  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

by  the  beauty  of  the  island.  In  his  Life  of  Columbus, 
Washington  Irving  says:  "From  his  continual  re- 
marks on  the  beauty  of  scenery,  and  from  his  evident 
dehght  in  rural  sounds  and  objedls,  he  appears  to 
have  been  extremely  open  to  those  happy  influences, 
exercised  over  some  spirits,  by  the  graces  and  won- 
ders of  nature.  He  gives  utterance  to  these  feelings 
with  charadleristic  enthusiasm,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  the  artlessness  and  simplicity  of  didlion 
of  a  child.  When  speaking  of  some  lovely  scene 
among  the  groves,  or  along  the  flowery  shores  of 
these  favored  islands,  he  says,  "One  could  live  there 
forever."  Cuba  broke  upon  him  Hke  an  elysium. 
"It  is  the  most  beautiful  island,"  he  says,  "that 
ever  eyes  beheld,  full  of  excellent  ports  and  pro- 
found rivers."  A  little  discount  must  be  made  on 
such  a  statement.  Granting  all  that  is  to  be  said 
of  Cuba's  scenic  charms,  some  allowance  is  to  be 
made  for  two  influences.  One  is  Don  Cristobal's 
exuberance,  and  the  other  is  the  fadl  that  when  one 
has  been  knocking  about,  as  he  had  been,  for  nearly 
three  months  on  the  open  sea  and  among  low-lying 
and  sandy  islands  and  keys,  any  land,  verdure  clad 
and  hilly,  is  a  pidlure  of  Paradise.  Many  people  need 
only  two  or  three  days  at  sea  to  reach  a  similar 
conclusion.  In  his  letter  to  Luis  de  Santangel, 
Columbus  says:  "All  these  countries  are  of  sur- 
passing excellence,  and  in  particular  Juana  (Cuba), 
which  contains  abundance  of  fine  harbors,  excelling 
any  in  Christendom,  as  also  many  large  and  beautiful 


OLD  CUBA  5 

rivers.  The  land  is  high,  and  exhibits  chains  of  tall 
mountains  which  seem  to  reach  to  the  skies  and 
surpass  beyond  comparison  the  isle  of  Cetrefrey 
(Sicily).  These  display  themselves  in  all  manner  of 
beautiful  shapes.  They  are  accessible  in  every  part, 
and  covered  with  a  vast  variety  of  lofty  trees  which 
it  appears  to  me  never  lose  their  foliage.  Some  were 
covered  with  blossoms,  some  with  fruit,  and  others 
in  different  stages  according  to  their  nature.  There 
are  palm  trees  of  six  or  eight  sorts.  Beautiful 
forests  of  pines  are  likewise  found,  and  fields  of 
vast  extent.  Here  are  also  honey  and  fruits  of 
thousand  sorts,   and  birds  of  every  variety." 

Having  landed  at  this  indefinitely  located  point, 
Columbus,  believing  that  he  had  reached  the  region 
he  was  seeking,  despatched  messengers  to  the  in- 
terior to  open  communication  with  some  high  official 
of  Cathay,  in  which  country  he  supposed  himself 
to  be,  the  idea  of  Cipango  apparently  having  been 
abandoned.  "Many  at  the  present  day,"  says 
Washington  Irving,  "will  smile  at  this  embassy 
to  a  naked  savage  chieftain  in  the  interior  of  Cuba, 
in  mistake  for  an  Asiatic  monarch;  but  such  was  the 
singular  nature  of  this  voyage,  a  continual  series 
of  golden  dreams,  and  all  interpreted  by  the  delud- 
ing volume  of  Marco  Polo."  But  the  messengers 
went  on  their  journey,  and  proceeded  inland  some 
thirty  or  forty  miles.  There  they  came  upon  a 
village  of  about  fifty  huts  and  a  population  of  about 
a  thousand.     They  were  able  to  communicate  only 


6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

by  signs,  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  repHes  of 
the  natives  were  as  httle  understood  by  the  messen- 
gers as  the  questions  were  by  the  natives.  The 
messengers  sought  something  about  which  the  natives 
knew  Httle  or  nothing.  The  communications  were 
interpreted  through  the  medium  of  imagination  and 
desire.  Nothing  accompHshed,  the  commission  re- 
turned and  made  its  disappointing  report.  Wash- 
ington Irving  thus  describes  the  further  proceedings: 
"The  report  of  the  envoys  put  an  end  to  the  many 
splendid  fancies  of  Columbus,  about  the  barbaric 
prince  and  his  capital.  He  was  cruising,  however, 
in  a  region  of  enchantment,  in  which  pleasing  chime- 
ras started  up  at  every  step,  exercising  by  turns  a 
power  over  his  imagination.  During  the  absence 
of  the  emissaries,  the  Indians  had  informed  him,  by 
signs,  of  a  place  to  the  eastward,  where  the  people 
colledled  gold  along  the  river  banks  by  torchlight 
and  afterward  wrought  it  into  bars  with  hammers. 
In  speaking  of  this  place  they  again  used  the  words 
Babeque  and  Bohio,  which  he,  as  usual,  supposed 
to  be  the  proper  names  of  islands  or  countries. 
His  great  objedl  was  to  arrive  at  some  opulent  and 
civilized  country  of  the  East,  with  which  he  might 
establish  commercial  relations,  and  whence  he  might 
carry  home  a  quantity  of  oriental  merchandise  as  a 
rich  trophy  of  his  discovery.  The  season  was  ad- 
vancing; the  cool  nights  gave  hints  of  approaching 
winter;  he  resolved,  therefore,  not  to  proceed 
farther  to  the  north,  nor  to  linger  about  uncivilized 


OLD  CUBA  7 

places  which,  at  present,  he  had  not  the  means  of 
colonizing,  but  to  return  to  the  east-south-east,  in 
quest  of  Babeque,  which  he  trusted  might  prove 
some  rich  and  civilized  island  on  the  coast  of  Asia.'* 
And  so  he  sailed  away  for  Hispaniola  (Santo  Do- 
mingo) which  appears  to  have  become,  a  little  later, 
his  favorite  West  Indian  resort. 

He  began  his  eastward  journey  on  November  12th. 
As  he  did  not  reach  Cape  Maisi,  the  eastern  point 
of  the  island,  until  December  5th,  he  must  have  made 
frequent  stops  to  examine  the  shore.  Referring  to 
one  of  the  ports  that  he  entered  he  wrote  to  the 
Spanish  Sovereigns  thus:  "The  amenity  of  this 
river,  and  the  clearness  of  the  water,  through  which 
the  sand  at  the  bottom  may  be  seen;  the  multitude 
of  palm  trees  of  various  forms,  the  highest  and  most 
beautiful  that  I  have  met  with,  and  an  infinity  of 
other  great  and  green  trees;  the  birds  in  rich  plu- 
mage and  the  verdure  of  the  fields,  render  this  country 
of  such  marvellous  beauty  that  it  surpasses  all  others 
in  charms  and  graces,  as  the  day  doth  the  night  in 
lustre.  For  which  reason  I  often  say  to  my  people 
that,  much  as  I  endeavor  to  give  a  complete  account 
of  it  to  your  majesties,  my  tongue  cannot  express 
the  whole  truth,  nor  my  pen  describe  it;  and  I  have 
been  so  overwhelmed  at  the  sight  of  so  much  beauty 
that  I  have  not  known  how  to  relate  it.'' 

Columbus  made  no  settlement  in  Cuba;  his  part 
extends  only  to  the  discovery.  On  his  second  expe- 
dition,   in    the    spring    of    1494,    he    visited    and    ex- 


8  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

plored  the  south  coast  as  far  west  as  the  Isle  of 
Pines,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  La  Evangelista. 
He  touched  the  south  coast  again  on  his  fourth 
voyage,  in  1503.  On  his  way  eastward  from  his 
voyage  of  discovery  on  the  coast  of  Central  America, 
he  missed  his  dired:  course  to  Hispaniola,  and  came 
upon  the  Cuban  shore  near  Cape  Cruz.  He  was 
detained  there  for  some  days  by  heavy  weather  and 
adverse  winds,  and  sailed  thence  to  his  unhappy 
experience  in  Jamaica.  The  work  of  colonizing 
remained  for  others.  Columbus  died  in  the  belief 
that  he  had  discovered  a  part  of  the  continent  of 
Asia.  That  Cuba  was  only  an  island  was  determined 
by  Sebastian  de  Ocampo  who  sailed  around  it  in 
1508.  Baron  Humboldt,  who  visited  Cuba  in  1801 
and  again  in  1825,  and  wrote  learnedly  about  it, 
states  that  "the  first  settlement  of  the  whites  occurred 
in  151 1,  when  Velasquez,  under  orders  from  Don 
Diego  Columbus,  landed  at  Puerto  de  las  Palmas, 
near  Cape  Maisi,  and  subjugated  the  Cacique  Hatuey 
who  had  fled  from  Haiti  to  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba, 
where  he  became  the  chief  of  a  confederation  of 
several  smaller  native  princes.''  This  was,  in  fadl, 
a  military  expedition  composed  of  three  hundred 
soldiers,  with  four  vessels. 

Hatuey  deserves  attention.  His  name  is  not  in- 
frequently seen  in  Cuba  today,  but  it  is  probable 
that  few  visitors  know  whether  it  refers  to  a  man,  a 
bird,  or  a  vegetable.  He  was  the  first  Cuban  hero 
of  whom  we   have  record,  although   the  entire  reli- 


OLD  CUBA  9 

ability  of  the  record  is  somewhat  doubtful.  The 
notable  historian  of  this  period  is  Bartolome  Las 
Casas,  Bishop  of  Chiapa.  He  appears  to  have  been 
a  man  of  great  worth,  a  very  tender  heart,  and  an 
imagination  fully  as  vivid  as  that  of  Columbus. 
His  sympathies  were  aroused  by  the  tales  of  the 
exceeding  brutality  of  many  of  the  early  Spanish 
voyagers  in  their  relations  with  the  natives.  He 
went  out  to  see  for  himself,  and  wrote  voluminously 
of  his  experiences.  He  also  wrote  with  exceeding 
frankness,  and  often  with  great  indignation.  He  writes 
about  Hatuey.  The  inference  is  that  this  Cacique, 
or  chieftain,  fled  from  Haiti  to  escape  Spanish  brutal- 
ity, and  even  in  fear  of  his  life.  There  are  other 
translations  of  Las  Casas,  but  for  this  purpose  choice 
has  been  made  of  one  published  in  London  about 
the  year  1699.     It  is  given  thus: 

"There  happened  divers  things  in  this  island  (Cuba) 
that  deserve  to  be  remarked.  A  rich  and  potent 
Cacique  named  Hatuey  was  retired  into  the  Isle 
of  Cuba  to  avoid  that  Slavery  and  Death  with  which 
the  Spaniards  menaced  him;  and  being  informed 
that  his  persecutors  were  upon  the  point  of  landing 
in  this  Island,  he  assembled  all  his  Subjeds  and 
Domestics  together,  and  made  a  Speech  unto  them 
after  this  manner.  "You  know,  (said  he)  the  Re- 
port is  spread  abroad  that  the  Spaniards  are  ready 
to  invade  this  Island,  and  you  are  not  ignorant  of 
the  ill  usage  our  Friends  and  Countrymen  have  met 
with    at    their    hands,    and    the    cruelties    they    have 


lo  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

committed  at  Haiti  (so  Hispaniola  is  called  in  their 
Language).  They  are  now  coming  hither  with  a 
design  to  exercise  the  same  Outrages  and  Persecu- 
tions upon  us.  Are  you  ignorant  (says  he)  of  the 
ill  Intentions  of  the  People  of  whom  I  am  speaking  .f* 
We  know  not  (say  they  all  with  one  voice)  upon 
what  account  they  come  hither,  but  we  know  they 
are  a  very  wicked  and  cruel  People.  I'll  tell  you 
then  (replied  the  Cacique)  that  these  Europeans 
worship  a  very  covetous  sort  of  God,  so  that  it  is 
difficult  to  satisfy  him;  to  perform  the  Worship  they 
render  to  this  Idol,  they  will  exadl  immense  Treasures 
of  us,  and  will  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  reduce 
us  to  a  miserable  state  of  Slavery,  or  else  put  us  to 
death."  The  historian  leaves  to  the  imagination 
and  credulity  of  his  readers  the  task  of  determining 
just  where  and  how  he  got  the  full  details  of  this 
speech  and  of  the  subsequent  proceedings.  The 
report  of  the  latter  may  well  be  generally  corred: 
inasmuch  as  there  were  Spanish  witnesses  present, 
but  the  account  of  this  oration,  delivered  prior  to 
the  arrival  of  the  Spanish  invaders,  is  clearly  open 
to  a  suspicion  that  it  may  be  more  or  less  imaginary. 
But  the  historian  continues:  "Upon  this  he  took  a 
Box  full  of  Gold  and  valuable  Jewels  which  he  had 
with  him,  and  exposing  it  to  their  view:  Here  is 
(said  he)  the  God  of  the  Spaniards,  whom  we  must 
honor  with  our  Sports  and  Dances,  to  see  if  we  can 
appease  him  and  render  him  propitious  to  us;  that 
so  he  may  command  the  Spaniards  not  to  offer  us 


OLD  CUBA  II 

any  injury.  They  all  applauded  this  Speech,  and 
fell  a  leaping  and  dancing  around  the  Box,  till  they 
had  quite  tired  and  spent  themselves.  After  which 
the  Cacique  Hatuey  resuming  his  Discourse,  con- 
tinued to  speak  to  them  in  these  terms:  If  we 
keep  this  God  (says  he)  till  he's  taken  away  from 
us,  he'll  certainly  cause  our  lives  to  be  taken  away 
from  us;  and  therefore  I  am  of  opinion  it  will  be 
the  best  way  to  cast  him  into  the  river.  They  all 
approved  of  this  Advice,  and  went  all  together  with 
one  accord  to  throw  this  pretended  God  into  the 
River." 

But  the  Spaniards  came  and  encountered  the  re- 
sistance of  Hatuey  and  his  followers.  The  invaders 
were  victorious,  and  Hatuey  was  captured  and  burned 
alive.  Las  Casas  relates  that  while  the  poor  wretch 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  tied  to  a  stake,  "a 
certain  Franciscan  Friar  of  great  Piety  and  Virtue, 
took  upon  him  to  speak  to  him  of  God  and  our 
Religion,  and  to  explain  to  him  some  Articles  of 
Catholic  Faith,  of  which  he  had  never  heard  a  word 
before,  promising  him  Eternal  Life  if  he  would  believe 
and  threatening  him  with  Eternal  Torment  if  he 
continued  obstinate  in  his  Infidelity.  Hatuey  re- 
flecfting  on  the  matter,  as  much  as  the  Place  and 
Condition  in  which  he  was  would  permit,  asked  the 
Friar  that  instrucffced  him,  whether  the  Gate  of 
Heaven  was  open  to  Spaniards;  and  being  answered 
that  such  of  them  as  were  good  men  might  hope 
for  entrance  there:    the  Cacique,  without  any  farther 


12  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

deliberation,  told  him  that  he  had  no  mind  to  go 
to  heaven  for  fear  of  meeting  with  such  cruel  and 
wicked  Company  as  they  were;  but  he  would  much 
rather  choose  to  go  to  Hell  where  he  might  be  de- 
livered from  the  troublesome  sight  of  such  kind  of 
People."  And  so  died  the  Cacique  Hatuey.  Four 
hundred  years  later,  the  Cuban  Government  named 
a  gunboat  Hatuey,  in  his  honor. 

The  Velasquez  expedition,  in  the  following  year, 
founded  Baracoa,  now  a  small  city  on  the  northern 
coast  near  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island.  It 
is  a  spot  of  exceeding  scenic  charm.  It  was  estab- 
lished as  the  capital  city,  but  it  held  that  honor 
for  a  few  years  only.  In  15 14  and  15 15,  settlements 
were  established  at  what  is  now  Santiago,  at  Sandli 
Spiritus,  Trinidad,  and  Batabano.  The  latter  was 
originally  called  San  Cristobal  de  la  Habana,  the 
name  being  transferred  to  the  present  city,  on  the 
north  coast,  in  15 19.  It  displaced  the  name  Puerto 
de  Catenas  given  to  the  present  Havana  by  Ocampo, 
who  careened  his  vessels  there  in  1508.  Baracoa 
was  made  the  seat  of  a  bishopric,  and  a  cathedral 
was  begun,  in  15 18.  In  1522,  both  the  capital  and 
the  bishopric  were  transferred  to  Santiago,  a  location 
more  readily  accessible  from  the  new  settlements  on 
the  south  coast,  and  also  from  Jamaica  which  was 
then  included  in  the  diocese.  Cuba,  at  about  this 
period,  was  the  point  of  departure  for  an  important 
expedition.  In  15 17,  de  Cordoba,  with  three  vessels 
and   no  soldiers,  was  sent  on  an  expedition  to  the 


OLD  CUBA  13 

west   for  further   and   more  northerly  exploration  of 
the    land    discovered    by    Columbus    in     1503.     The 
coast  from  Panama  to  Honduras  had  been  occupied. 
The  objed:  of  this  expedition  was  to  learn  what  lay 
to  the  northward.     The  result  was  the  discovery  of 
Yucatan.     Cordoba    returned    to    die    of  wounds    re- 
ceived in  a  battle.     A  second  and  stronger  expedition 
was     immediately     despatched.     This     rounded     the 
peninsula  and  followed  the  coast  as  far  as  the  present 
city    of   Vera    Cruz.     In    15 18,    Hernan    Cortez    was 
alcalde,  or  mayor,  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.     On  Novem- 
ber 18,  of  that  year,  he  sailed  from  that  port  in  com- 
mand  of  an  expedition  for  the  conquest  of  Mexico, 
finally  efFed:ed  in  1521,  after  one  of  the  most  romantic 
campaigns     in    the    history    of    warfare.     All    that, 
however,    is    a    story    in    which    Cuba    has    no    place 
except   that   of  the   starting   point    and    base   of  the 
expedition.     There  is  another  story  of  the  same  kind, 
a  few  years  later.     The  first  discovery  of  Florida  is 
somewhat  uncertain.     It  appears  on  an  old  Spanish 
map  dated  1502.     Following  the  expedition  of  Ponce 
de  Leon,  in   15 13,  and  of  Murielo,  in   15 16,  Narvaez 
headed  an  expedition  from  Cuba  in   1528  with  some 
three   hundred    freebooters.     They  landed  in  Florida, 
where    almost    the   entire    band   was,    very  properly, 
destroyed    by  the  Indians.     In    1539,  de  Soto  sailed 
from   Havana,   with   five   hundred    and   seventy   men 
and   two    hundred    and   twenty-three    horses,    for   an 
extended     exploration.     They     wandered     for     three 
years  throughout  what  is  now  the  southern  part  of 


14  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

the  United  States  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
westward  to  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  After  a  series 
of  almost  incredible  experiences,  de  Soto  died  in 
1542,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River  at  a 
point  probably  not  far  from  the  Red  River.  These 
and  other  expeditions,  from  Cuba  and  from  Mexico, 
to  what  is  now  territory  of  the  United  States,  pro- 
duced no  permanent  results.  No  gold  was  found. 
Of  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba,  as  found  by  the 
Spaniards,  comparatively  little  is  recorded.  They 
seem  to  have  been  a  somewhat  negative  people, 
generally  described  as  docile,  gentle,  generous,  and 
indolent.  Their  garments  were  quite  limited,  and 
their  customs  altogether  primitive.  They  disappear 
from  Cuba's  story  in  its  earliest  chapters.  Very 
little  is  known  of  their  numbers.  Some  historians 
state  that,  in  the  days  of  Columbus,  the  island  had 
a  milHon  inhabitants,  but  this  is  obviously  little  if 
anything  more  than  a  rough  guess.  Humboldt  makes 
the  following  comment:  "No  means  now  exist  to 
arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  the  population  of  Cuba  in 
the  time  of  Columbus;  but  how  can  we  admit  what 
some  otherwise  judicious  historians  state,  that  when 
the  island  of  Cuba  was  conquered  in  151 1,  it  con- 
tained a  million  inhabitants  of  whom  only  14,000 
remained  in  15 17.  The  statistical  information  which 
we  find  in  the  writings  of  Las  Casas  is  filled  with 
contradidions."  Forty  years  or  so  later  the  Domin- 
ican friar,  Luis  Bertram,  on  his  return  to  Spain, 
predicted  that  "the  200,000  Indians  now  in  the  island 


OLD  CUBA  15 

of  Cuba,  will  perish,  vidlims  to  the  cruelty  of  the 
Europeans."  Yet  Gomara  stated  that  there  was  not 
an  Indian  in  Cuba  after  1553.  Whatever  the  exacfl 
truth  regarding  numbers,  it  is  evident  that  they 
disappeared  rapidly,  worked  to  death  by  severe 
task-masters.  The  institution  of  African  slavery, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  inefficient  and  fast  disappear- 
ing native  labor,  had  its  beginning  in  1521.  Baron 
Humboldt  states  that  from  that  time  until  1790, 
the  total  number  of  African  negroes  imported  as 
slaves  was  90,875.  In  the  next  thirty  years,  the 
business  increased  rapidly,  and  Humboldt  estimates 
the  total  arrivals,  openly  entered  and  smuggled  in, 
from  1521  to  1820,  as  372,449.  Mr.  J.  S.  Thrasher, 
in  a  translation  of  Humboldt's  work,  issued  in  1856, 
added  a  footnote  showing  the  arrivals  up  to  1854  as 
644,000.  A  British  official  authority,  at  the  same 
period,  gives  the  total  as  a  little  less  than  500,000. 
The  exad:  number  is  not  important.  The  institution 
on  a  large  scale,  in  its  relation  to  the  total  number 
of  whites,  was  a  facfl. 

It  is,  of  course,  quite  impossible  even  today  to 
argue  the  question  of  slavery.  To  many,  the  offence 
lies  in  the  mere  fad;  to  others,  it  Hes  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  system.  At  all  events,  the  institution 
is  no  longer  tolerated  in  any  civilized  country.  While 
some  to  whom  the  system  itself  was  a  bitter  offence 
have  found  much  to  criticize  in  its  operation  in  Cuba, 
the  general  opinion  of  observers  appears  to  be  that 
it  was  there  notably  free  from  the  brutality  usually 


i6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

supposed  to  attend  it.  The  Census  Report  of  1899, 
prepared  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  author- 
ities, states  that  "while  it  was  fraught  with  all  the 
horrors  of  this  nefarious  business  elsewhere,  the  laws 
for  the  protedlion  of  slaves  were  unusually  humane. 
Almost  from  the  beginning,  slaves  had  a  right  to 
purchase  their  freedom  or  change  their  masters,  and 
long  before  slavery  was  abolished  they  could  own 
property  and  contract  marriage.  As  a  result,  the 
proportion  of  free  colored  to  slaves  has  always  been 
large."  Humboldt,  who  studied  the  institution  while 
it  was  most  extensive,  states  that  "the  position 
of  the  free  negroes  in  Cuba  is  much  better  than  it 
is  elsewhere,  even  among  those  nations  which  have 
for  ages  flattered  themselves  as  being  most  ad- 
vanced in  civilization."  The  movement  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  had  its  beginning  in  18 15,  with 
the  treaty  of  Vienna,  to  which  Spain  was  a  party. 
Various  adls  in  the  same  direction  appear  in  the  next 
fifty  years.  The  Moret  law,  enadled  in  1870  by  the 
Spanish  Cortes,  provided  for  gradual  abolition  in 
Spain's  dominions,  and  a  law  of  1880,  one  of  the 
results  of  the  Ten  Years'  War,  definitely  abolished 
the  system.  Traces  of  it  remained,  however,  until 
about  1887,  when  it  may  be  regarded  as  having 
become  extind:  forever  in   Cuba. 

For  the  first  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  Cuba's 
history,  the  city  of  Havana  appears  as  the  special 
centre  of  interest.  There  was  growth  in  other 
sedlions,    but   it   was   slow,   for   reasons   that  will   be 


OLD  CUBA  17 

explained  elsewhere.  In  1538,  Havana  was  attacked 
and  totally  destroyed  by  a  French  privateer.  Her- 
nando de  Soto,  then  Governor  of  the  island,  at  once 
began  the  construdlion  of  defences  that  are  now 
one  of  the  special  points  of  interest  in  the  city.  The 
first  was  the  Castillo  de  la  Fuerza.  In  1552,  Havana 
became  the  capital  city.  In  1555,  it  was  again 
attacked,  and  practically  destroyed,  including  the 
new  fortress,  by  French  buccaneers.  Restoration 
was  effedled  as  rapidly  as  possible.  In  1589,  La 
Fuerza  was  enlarged,  and  the  construdlion  of  the 
Morro  and  of  La  Punta,  the  fortress  at  the  foot 
of  the  Prado,  was  begun.  The  old  city  wall,  of 
which  portions  still  remain,  was  of  a  later  period. 
Despite  these  precautions,  the  city  was  repeatedly 
attacked  by  pirates  and  privateers.  Some  reference 
to  these  experiences  will  be  made  in  a  special  chapter 
on  the  city.  The  slow  progress  of  the  island  is 
shown  by  the  fad:  that  an  accepted  official  report 
gives  the  total  population  in  1775  as  171,620,  of 
whom  less  than  100,000  were  white.  The  absence 
of  precious  metals  is  doubtless  the  main  reason 
for  the  lack  of  Spanish  interest  in  the  development 
of  the  country.  For  a  long  time  after  the  occupation, 
the  principal  industry  was  cattle  raising.  Agricul- 
ture, the  produd:ion  of  sugar,  tobacco,  coffee,  and 
other  crops,  on  anything  properly  to  be  regarded 
as  a  commercial  scale,  was  an  experience  of  later 
years.  The  reason  for  this  will  be  found  in  the  mis- 
taken colonial  policy  of  Spain,  a  policy  the  appHca- 


i8  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

tion  of  which,  in  a  far  milder  manner,  cost  England 
its  richest  colony  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and 
which,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  19th  Century,  cost 
Spain  all  of  its  possessions  in  this  half  of  the  world, 
with  the  exception  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 


II 

NEW  CUBA 

HILE  there  is  no  point  in  Cuba's  history 
that  may  be  said  to  mark  a  definite  division 
between  the  Old  Cuba  and  the  New  Cuba, 
the  beginning  of  the  19th  Century  may  be  taken  for 
that  purpose.  Cuba's  development  dragged  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  population  increased 
slowly  and  industry  lagged.  For  this,  Spain's  colonial 
policy  was  responsible.  But  it  was  the  policy  of  the 
time,  carried  out  more  or  less  efFedlively  by  all  na- 
tions having  colonies.  England  wrote  it  particu- 
larly into  her  Navigation  A6ls  of  165 1,  1660,  and 
1663,  and  supported  it  by  later  Adls.  While  not 
rigorously  enforced,  and  frequently  evaded  by  the 
American  colonists,  the  system  at  last  proved  so 
offensive  that  the  colonists  revolted  in  1775.  Most 
of  Spain's  colonies  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  for 
the  same  reason,  declared  and  maintained  their  in- 
dependence in  the  first  quarter  of  the  19th  Century. 
At  the  bottom  of  Cuba's  several  little  uprisings,  and 
at  the  bottom  of  its  final  revolt  in  1895,  lay  the  same 
cause  of  offence.  In  those  earlier  years,  it  was  held 
that  colonies  existed  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the 
mother-country.     In    1497,    almost    at    the    very    be- 


20  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ginning  of  Spain's  colonial  enterprises  in  the  New 
World,  a  royal  decree  was  issued  under  which  the 
exclusive  privilege  to  carry  on  trade  with  the  colonies 
was  granted  to  the  port  of  Seville.  This  monopoly 
was  transferred  to  the  port  of  Cadiz  in  17 17,  but  it 
continued,  in  somewhat  modified  form  in  later  years, 
until  Spain  had  no  colonies  left. 

While  Santiago  was  the  capital  of  the  island,  from 
1522  to  1552,  trade  between  Spain  and  the  island 
could  be  carried  on  only  through  that  port.  When 
Havana  became  the  capital,  in  1552,  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  trade  was  transferred  to  that  city.  With 
the  exception  of  the  years  1762  and  1763,  when  the 
British  occupied  Havana  and  declared  it  open  to 
all  trade,  the  commerce  of  the  island  could  only  be 
done  through  Havana  with  Seville,  until  1717,  and 
afterward  with  Cadiz.  Baracoa,  or  Santiago,  or 
Trinidad,  or  any  other  Cuban  city,  could  not  send 
goods  to  Santander,  or  Malaga,  or  Barcelona,  or 
any  other  Spanish  market,  or  receive  goods  diredlly 
from  them.  The  law  prohibited  trade  between 
Cuba  and  all  other  countries,  and  limited  all  trade 
between  the  island  and  the  mother-country  to  the 
port  of  Havana,  at  one  end,  and  to  Seville  or  Cadiz, 
according  to  the  time  of  the  control  of  those  ports,  at 
the  other  end.  Even  intercolonial  commerce  was 
prohibited.  At  times,  and  for  brief  periods,  the 
system  was  modified  to  the  extent  of  special  trade 
licences,  and,  occasionally,  by  international  treaties. 
But    the    general    system    of    trade    restriction    was 


NEW  CUBA  21 

maintained  throughout  all  of  Spain's  colonial  experi- 
ence. Between  1778  and  1803,  most  of  Cuba's  ports 
were  opened  to  trade  with  Spain.  The  European 
wars  of  the  early  years  of  the  19th  Century  led  to 
modification  of  the  trade  laws,  but  in  1809  foreign 
commerce  with  Spanish  American  ports  was  again 
prohibited.  A  few  years  later,  Spain  had  lost  nearly 
all  its  American  colonies.  A  new  plan  was  adopted 
in  1818.  Under  that,  Spain  sought  to  hold  the  trade 
of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  by  tariffs  so  highly  favorable 
to  merchandise  from  the  mother-country  as  to  be 
efFedlively  prohibitive  with  regard  to  many  produdls 
from  other  countries.  This,  in  general  outline,  is 
the  cause  of  Cuba's  slow  progress  until  the  19th 
Century,  and  the  explanation  of  its  failure  to  make 
more   rapid    progress    during   that   century. 

Naturally,  under  such  conditions,  bribery  of  offi- 
cials and  smuggling  became  adlive  and  lucrative 
enterprises.  It  may  be  said,  in  stricfl:  confidence 
between  writer  and  reader,  that  Americans  were 
frequently  the  parties  of  the  other  part  in  these 
transactions.  In  search  through  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  American  histories,  I  have  been  unable  to 
find  definite  references  to  trade  with  Cuba,  yet 
there  seems  to  be  abundant  reason  for  belief  that 
such  trade  was  carried  on.  There  are  many  refer- 
ences to  trade  with  the  West  Indies  as  far  back  as 
1640  and  even  a  year  or  two  earlier,  but  allusions 
to  trade  with  Cuba  do  not  appear,  doubtless  for 
the   reason   that   it   was    contraband,    a    violation   of 


22  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

both  Spanish  and  British  laws.  There  was  evidently 
some  relaxation  toward  the  close  of  the  i8th  Century. 
There  are  no  records  of  the  commerce  of  the  American 
colonies,  and  only  fragmentary  records  between  1776 
and  1789.  The  more  elaborate  records  of  1789 
and  following  years  show  shipments  of  fish,  whale 
oil,  spermaceti  candles,  lumber,  staves  and  heading, 
and  other  articles  to  the  "Spanish  West  Indies," 
in  which  group  Cuba  was  presumably  included.  The 
records  of  the  time  are  somewhat  unreliable.  It 
was  a  custom  for  the  small  vessels  engaged  in  that 
trade  to  take  out  clearance  papers  for  the  West 
Indies.  The  cargo  might  be  distributed  in  a  number 
of  ports,  and  the  return  cargo  might  be  similarly 
coUedled.  For  the  year  1795,  the  records  of  the 
United  States  show  total  imports  from  the  Spanish 
West  Indies  as  valued  at  ^1,740,000,  and  exports  to 
that  area  as  valued  at  ^1,390,000.  In  1800,  the 
imports  were  ^10,588,000,  and  the  exports  ^8,270,000. 
Just  how  much  of  this  was  trade  with  Cuba,  does  not 
appear.  Because  of  the  trade  increase  at  that  time, 
and  because  of  other  events  that,  soon  afterward, 
brought  Cuba  into  more  prominent  notice,  this  period 
has  been  chosen  as  the  line  of  division  between  the 
Old  and  the  New  Cuba. 

Compared  with  the  wonderful  fertility  of  Cuba, 
New  England  is  a  sterile  area.  Yet  in  1790,  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy  years  after  its  settlement,  the 
latter  had  a  population  a  little  exceeding  a  million, 
while  the  former,  in  1792,  or  two  hundred  and  eighty 


NEW  CUBA  23 

years  after  its  occupation,  is  officially  credited  with 
a  population  of  272,300.  Of  these,  153,559  were 
white  and  118,741  were  colored.  Several  forces 
came  into  operation  at  this  time,  and  population 
increased  rapidly,  to  572,363  in  1817,  and  to  704,465 
in  1827.  In  1841,  it  was  a  little  more  than  a  million. 
But  the  increase  in  colored  population,  by  the  im- 
portation of  African  slaves,  outstripped  the  increase 
by  the  whites.  In  1841,  the  population  was  divided 
into  418,291  whites  and  589,333  colored.  The  impor- 
tation of  slaves  having  declined,  the  year  1861  shows 
a  white  preponderance,  since  continued  and  sub- 
stantially increased.  Among  the  forces  contributing 
to  Cuba's  rapid  growth  during  this  period  were  a 
somewhat  greater  freedom  of  trade;  the  revolution 
in  the  neighboring  island  of  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo, 
that  had  its  beginning  in  1791  and  culminated,  some 
ten  years  later,  in  the  rule  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture; 
and  an  increased  demand  for  sugar.  One  result  of 
the  Haitian  disorder  was  the  arrival,  in  eastern 
Cuba,  of  a  large  number  of  exiles  and  emigrants 
who  established  extensive  coffee  plantations.  During 
the  first  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  Cuba's  history, 
the  principal  industry  of  the  island  was  cattle  raising, 
aside  from  the  domestic  industry  of  food  supply. 
The  proprietors  lived,  usually,  in  the  cities  and 
maintained  their  vast  estates  in  the  neighborhood. 
To  this,  later  on,  were  added  the  produdlion  of  honey 
and  wax  and  the  cultivation  of  tobacco.  With  the 
period    now    under    consideration,    there    came    the 


24  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

expansion  of  the  cofFee  and  sugar  industries.  The 
older  adlivities  do  not  appear  to  have  been  appreciably 
lessened;    the  others  were  added  on. 

Europe  and  the  Western  Hemisphere  were  at  that 
time  in  a  state  of  general  upheaval  and  rearrange- 
ment. Following  the  American  Revolution,  there 
came  the  French  Revolution;  the  Napoleonic  Wars; 
the  war  of  1812  between  the  United  States  and 
England;  and  the  general  revolt  of  the  Spanish 
colonies.  The  world  was  learning  new  lessons, 
adopting  new  policies,  in  which  the  Spanish  colonial 
system  was  a  blunder  the  folly  of  which  Spain  did 
not  even  then  fully  realize.  Yet  from  it  all,  by  one 
means  and  another,  Cuba  benefited.  Spain  was 
fortunate  in  its  seledlion  of  Governors-General  sent 
out  at  this  time.  Luis  de  Las  Casas,  who  arrived 
in  1790,  is  credited  with  much  useful  work.  He 
improved  roads  and  built  bridges;  established  schools 
and  the  Casa  de  Beneficencia,  still  among  the  leading 
institutions  in  Havana;  paved  the  streets  of  Havana; 
improved  as  far  as  he  could  the  commercial  condi- 
tions; and  established  the  Sociedad  Patriotica,  some- 
times called  the  Sociedad  Economica,  an  organization 
that  has  since  contributed  immeasurably  to  Cuba's 
welfare  and  progress.  He  was  followed  by  others 
whose  rule  was  creditable.  But  the  principal  evils, 
restricted  commerce  and  burdensome  taxation,  were 
not  removed,  although  world  conditions  pradlically 
compelled  some  modification  of  the  commercial 
regulations.     In    1801    the   ports   of  the   island   were 


NEW  CUBA  25 

thrown  open  to  the  trade  of  friendly  and  neutral 
nations.  Eight  years  later,  foreign  commerce  was 
again  prohibited.  In  1818,  a  new  system  was  estab- 
lished, that  of  a  tariff  so  highly  favorable  to  mer- 
chandise from  Spain  that  it  was  by  no  means  unusual 
for  goods  to  be  shipped  to  that  country,  even  from 
the  United  States,  and  from  there  reshipped  to 
Cuba.  Changes  in  the  rates  were  made  from  time 
to  time,  but  the  system  of  heavy  discrimination  in 
favor  of  Spanish  goods  in  Spanish  ships  continued 
until  the  equalization  of  conditions  under  the  order 
of  the  Government  of  Intervention,  in   1899. 

In  his  book  published  in  1840,  Mr.  Turnbull  states 
that  "the  mercantile  interests  of  the  island  have 
been  greatly  promoted  by  the  relaxation  of  those 
restridiive  regulations  which  under  the  old  peninsular 
system  bound  down  all  foreign  commerce  with  the 
colonies  of  Spain,  and  laid  it  prostrate  at  the  feet 
of  the  mother-country.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
sound  principles  of  free  trade,  in  any  large  or  ex- 
tended sense  of  the  term,  have  been  recognized  or 
ad:ed  upon  even  at  the  single  port  of  Havana.  The 
discriminating  duties  imposed  by  the  supreme  gov- 
ernment of  Madrid  on  the  natural  producflions, 
manufactures,  and  shipping  of  foreign  countries,  in 
contradistindlion  to  those  of  Spain,  are  so  stringent 
and  so  onerous  as  altogether  to  exclude  the  idea  of 
anything  approaching  to  commercial  freedom.  There 
is  no  longer,  it  is  true,  any  absolute  prohibition, 
but   in   many  cases   the  distinguishing  duties   are  so 


26  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

heavy  as  to  defeat  their  own  objed:,  and,  in  place 
of  promoting  the  interests  of  the  mother-country, 
have  had  httle  other  efFedl  than  the  estabhshment 
of  an  extensive  and  ruinous  contraband."  Under 
such  conditions  as  those  existing  in  Cuba,  from  its 
beginning  pradlically  until  the  estabhshment  of  its 
pohtical  independence,  industrial  development  and 
commercial  expansion   are  more  than  difficult. 

One  of  the  natural  results  of  such  a  system  appeared 
in  the  activities  of  smugglers.  The  extent  to  which 
that  industry  was  carried  on  cannot,  of  course,  be 
even  guessed.  Some  have  estimated  that  the  mer- 
chandise imported  in  violation  of  the  laws  equalled 
in  value  the  merchandise  entered  at  the  custom 
houses.  An  official  publication  (American)  states 
that  "from  smuggling  on  a  large  scale  and  privateer- 
ing to  buccaneering  and  piracy  is  not  a  long  step, 
and  under  the  name  of  privateers  French,  Dutch, 
English,  and  American  smugglers  and  buccaneers 
swarmed  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
for  more  than  two  centuries,  plundering  Spanish 
flotas  and  attacking  colonial  settlements.  Among 
the  latter,  Cuba  was  the  chief  sufferer."  Had  Cuba's 
coasts  been  made  to  order  for  the  purpose,  they 
could  hardly  have  been  better  adapted  to  the  uses 
of  smugglers.  Off  shore,  for  more  than  half  its 
coast  line,  both  north  and  south,  are  small  islands 
and  keys  with  narrow  and  shallow  passages  between 
them,  thus  making  an  excellent  dodging  area  for 
small    boats    if  pursued    by    revenue    vessels.     Thor- 


NEW  CUBA  27 

oughly  familiar  with  these  entrances  and  hiding  places, 
smugglers  could  land  their  goods  almost  at  will  with 
little   danger  of  detedlion  or  capture. 

Another  heavy  handicap  on  the  economic  progress 
of  the  island  appears  in  the  system  of  taxation. 
Regarding  this  system,  the  Census  of  1899  reports 
as     follows : 

"Apart  from  imports  and  exports,  taxes  were 
levied  on  real  and  personal  property  and  on  industries 
and  commerce  of  all  kinds.  Every  profession,  art, 
or  m.anual  occupation  contributed  its  quota,  while, 
as  far  back  as  1638,  seal  and  stamp  taxes  were  es- 
tablished on  all  judicial  business  and  on  all  kinds  of 
petitions  and  claims  made  to  official  corporations, 
and  subsequently  on  all  bills  and  accounts.  These 
taxes  were  in  the  form  of  stamps  on  official  paper 
and  at  the  date  of  American  occupation  the  paper 
cost  from  35  cents  to  ^3  a  sheet.  On  deeds,  wills, 
and  other  similar  documents  the  paper  cost  from 
35  cents  to  ^37.50  per  sheet,  according  to  the  value 
of  the  property  concerned.  Failure  to  use  even  the 
lowest-priced  paper  involved  a  fine  of  ^50. 

*' There  was  also  a  municipal  tax  on  the  slaughter 
of  cattle  for  the  market.  This  privilege  was  sold 
by  the  municipal  council  to  the  highest  bidder,  with 
the  result  that  taxes  were  assessed  on  all  animals 
slaughtered,  whether  for  the  market  or  for  private 
consumption,  with  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
price    of   meat. 

"Another  tax  established  in  1528,  called  the  derecho 


28  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

de  averia,  required  the  payment  of  20  ducats  (^16) 
by  every  person,  bond  or  free,  arriving  in  the  island. 
In  1665  this  tax  was  increased  to  ^22,  and  continued 
in  force  to  1765,  thus  retarding  immigration,  and, 
to  that  extent,  the  increase  of  population,  especially 
of  the   laboring   class. 

"An  examination  of  these  taxes  will  show  their 
excessive,  arbitrary,  and  unscientific  character,  and 
how  they  operated  to  discourage  Cubans  from  own- 
ing property  or  engaging  in  many  industrial  pursuits 
tending  to  benefit  them  and  to  promote  the  material 
improvement  of  the  island. 

"Taxes  on  real  estate  were  estimated  by  the  tax 
inspedlor  on  the  basis  of  its  rental  or  productive 
capacity,  and  varied  from  4  to  12  per  cent.  Sim- 
ilarly, a  nominal  municipal  tax  of  25  per  cent  was 
levied  on  the  estimated  profits  of  all  industries  and 
commerce,  and  on  the  income  derived  from  all  pro- 
fessions, manual  occupations,  or  agencies,  the  collector 
receiving  6  per  cent  of  all  taxes  assessed.  Much  un- 
just discrimination  was  made  against  Cubans  in  deter- 
mining assessable  values  and  incolledling  the  taxes,  and 
it  is  said  that  bribery  in  some  form  was  the  only  efFedl- 
ive  defense  against  the  most  flagrant  impositions." 

Some  of  the  experiences  of  this  period  will  be 
considered  in  special  chapters  on  Cuba's  alleged 
revolutions  and  on  the  relations  of  the  United  States 
to  Cuba  and  its  affairs.  One  point  may  be  noted 
here.  The  wave  of  republicanism  that  swept  over 
a  considerable  part  of  Europe  and  over  the  Western 


NEW  CUBA  29 

Hemisphere,  from  1775  to  1825,  had  its  diredl  influ- 
ence in  Spain,  and  an  influence  only  less  dired:  in 
Cuba.  In  1812,  Spain  became  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  It  is  true  that  the  institution  had  only  a 
brief  life,  but  the  sentiment  that  lay  beneath  it 
persisted  and  had  been  repeatedly  a  cause  of  dis- 
turbance on  the  Peninsula.  Something  of  the  same 
sentiment  pervaded  Cuba  and  excited  ambitions, 
not  for  national  independence,  but  for  some  partici- 
pation in  government.  A  royal  decree,  in  18 10, 
gave  Cuba  representation  in  the  Cortes,  and  two 
deputies  from  the  island  took  part  in  framing  the 
Constitution  of  1812.  This  recognition  of  Cuba 
lasted  for  only  two  years,  the  Constitution  being 
abrogated  in  18 14,  but  it  was  restored  in  1820,  only 
to  cease  again  three  years  later.  Representatives 
were  again  admitted  to  the  Cortes  in  1834,  and 
again  excluded  in  1837.  The  efFed  of  all  this  was, 
perhaps,  psychological  rather  than  pradical,  but  it 
gave  rise  to  a  new  mental  attitude  and  to  some 
change  in  condudl.  The  effedl  appears  in  the  nu- 
merous recurrences  of  open  protest  and  passive  resis- 
tance in  the  place  of  the  earlier  submission.  Writing 
in  1855,  Mr.  J.  S.  Thrasher  stated  that  "the  essen- 
tial political  elements  of  the  island  are  antagonistic 
to  those  of  the  mother-country.  While  the  Cortes 
and  the  crown  have  frequently  declared  that  Cuba 
does  not  form  an  integral  part  of  the  Spanish  mon- 
archy, but  must  be  governed  by  special  laws  not 
applicable  to  Spain,   and  persist  in  ruling  her  under 


30  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

the  erroneous  and  unjust  European  colonial  system, 
the  growing  wealth  and  increasing  intelligence  of  the 
Cubans  lead  them  to  aspire  to  some  share  in  the 
elimination  of  the  political  principles  under  which 
their  own  affairs  shall  be  administered.  A  like  an- 
tagonism exists  in  the  economic  relations  of  the  two 
countries.  While  the  people  of  Cuba  are  not  averse 
to  the  raising  of  such  revenue  as  may  be  required 
for  the  proper  wants  of  the  State,  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  which  they  may  participate,  they  complain, 
with  a  feeling  of  national  pride,  that  fiscal  burdens 
of  the  most  onerous  kind  are  laid  upon  them  for  the 
expressed  purpose  of  advancing  interests  which  are 
in  every  sense  opposed  to  their  own.  Thus,  Spain 
imposes  taxes  to  support  a  large  army  and  navy, 
the  principal  objed:  of  which  is  to  prevent  any  ex- 
pression of  the  public  will  on  the  part  of  the  people 
of  Cuba.  Another  class  of  impositions  have  for 
their  object  the  diversion  of  the  trade  of  Cuba  to 
channels  which  shall  increase  the  profits  of  the 
agriculturists  and  mariners  of  Spain  without  regard 
to  the  interests  of  the  people  of  the  island." 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  severe  restridliions  and  heavy 
burdens,  Cuba  shows  a  considerable  progress  during 
the  first  half  of  the  century.  It  is  far  from  easy  to 
reach  fair  conclusions  from  contemporaneous  writ- 
ings. Naturally,  Spanish  officials  and  Spanish  writers 
strove  to  make  the  best  possible  case  for  Spain,  its 
policies  and  its  conduct.  The  press  of  the  island 
was  either  under  official  control  or  stood  in  fear  of 


i  i  O  ■^^ 


NEW  CUBA  31 

official  reprisals.  The  Cuban  side,  naturally  partisan, 
appears  to  have  been  presented  chiefly  by  fugitive 
pamphlets,  more  or  less  surreptitiously  printed  and 
distributed,  usually  the  produd:  of  political  extremists. 
Among  these  was  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  of 
rare  skill  in  the  use  of  language.  He  was  Don 
Antonio  Saco,  known  in  Cuba  as  the  "Immortal 
Saco."  In  a  letter  written  to  a  friend,  in  1846,  he 
says,  "The  tyranny  of  our  mother-country,  today 
most  acute,  will  have  this  result  —  that  within  a 
period  of  time  not  very  remote  the  Cubans  will  be 
compelled  to  take  up  arms  to  banish  her."  That 
British  observers  and  most  American  observers 
should  take  the  side  of  the  Cubans  is  altogether 
natural.  Writing  in  1854,  Mr.  M.  M.  Ballou,  in 
his  History  of  Cuba,  says:  "The  Cubans  owe  all  the 
blessings  they  enjoy  to  Providence  alone  (so  to  speak), 
while  the  evils  which  they  suffer  are  direcftly  referable 
to  the  oppression  of  the  home  government.  Nothing 
short  of  a  military  despotism  could  maintain  the 
conne(5lion  of  such  an  island  with  a  mother-country 
more  than  three  thousand  miles  distant;  and  ac- 
cordingly we  find  the  captain-general  of  Cuba  in- 
vested with  unlimited  power.  He  is,  in  facft,  a 
viceroy  appointed  by  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  ac- 
countable only  to  the  reigning  sovereign  for  his 
administration  of  the  colony.  His  rule  is  absolute; 
he  has  the  power  of  life  and  death  and  liberty  in  his 
hands.  He  can,  by  his  arbitrary  will,  send  into  exile 
any  person  whatever,   be  his  name  or  rank  what  it 


32  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

may,  whose  residence  in  the  island  he  considers 
prejudicial  to  the  royal  interest,  even  if  he  has  com- 
mitted no  overt  ad:.  He  can  suspend  the  operation  of 
the  laws  and  ordinances,  if  he  sees  fit  to  do  so;  can 
destroy  or  confiscate  property;  and,  in  short,  the  island 
may  be  said  to  be  perpetually  in  a  state  of  siege." 

The  student  or  the  reader  may  take  his  choice. 
On  one  side  are  Spanish  statements,  official  and  semi- 
official, and  on  the  other  side,  Cuban  statements 
no  less  partisan.  The  facfts  appear  to  support  the 
Cuban  argument.  In  spite  of  the  severe  restridlions 
and  the  heavy  burdens,  Cuba  shows  a  notable 
progress  during  the  19th  Century.  Governors  came 
and  went,  some  very  good  and  others  very  bad. 
There  were  a  hundred  of  them  from  15 12  to  1866, 
and  thirty-six  more  from  1866  to  1899,  the  average 
term  of  service  for  the  entire  number  being  a  little 
less  than  three  years.  On  the  whole,  the  most 
notable  of  the  group  of  19th  Century  incumbents 
was  Don  Miguel  Tacon,  who  ruled  from  June  i, 
1834,  until  April  16,  1838.  His  record  would  seem 
to  place  him  quite  decidedly  in  the  "  readlionary " 
class,  but  he  was  a  man  of  ad:ion  who  left  behind 
him  monuments  that  remain  to  his  credit  even  now. 
One  historian,  Mr.  Kimball,  who  wrote  in  1850, 
describes  him  as  one  in  whom  short-sightedness, 
narrow  views,  and  jealous  and  weak  mind,  were 
joined  to  an  uncommon  stubbornness  of  characfler. 
Another,  Mr.  M.  M.  Ballou,  says  that  "probably 
of  all  the  governors-general  that  have  filled  the  post 


NEW  CUBA  33 

in  Cuba  none  is  better  known  abroad,  or  has  left 
more  monuments  to  his  enterprise,  than  Tacon.  His 
reputation  at  Havana  (this  was  written  1854)  is  of 
a  somewhat  doubtful  character;  for,  though  he 
followed  out  with  energy  various  improvements,  yet 
his  modes  of  procedure  were  so  violent  that  he  was 
an  objed  of  terror  to  the  people  generally,  rather 
than  of  gratitude.  He  vastly  improved  the  appear- 
ance of  the  capital  and  its  vicinity,  built  the  new 
prison,  rebuilt  the  governor's  palace,  constru(f(:ed  a 
military  road  to  the  neighboring  forts,  ered:ed  a 
spacious  theatre  and  market  house,  arranged  a  new 
public  walk,  and  opened  a  vast  parade  ground  with- 
out the  city  walls,  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
new  city  which  has  now  sprung  up  in  this  formerly 
desolate  suburb.  He  suppressed  the  gaming  houses 
and  rendered  the  streets,  formerly  infested  with 
robbers,  as  secure  as  those  of  Boston  or  New  York." 
Another  wTiter,  Mr.  Samuel  Hazard,  in  1870,  says: 
*'0f  all  the  governors  who  have  been  in  command 
of  the  island  Governor  Tacon  seems  to  have  been 
the  best,  doing  the  most  to  improve  the  island, 
and  particularly  Havana;  making  laws,  punishing 
offences,  and  establishing  some  degree  of  safety  for 
its  inhabitants.  It  is  reported  of  him  that  he  is 
said,  like  the  great  King  Alfred,  to  have  promised 
the  Cubans  that  they  should  be  able  to  leave  their 
purses  of  m.oney  on  the  public  highway  without  fear 
of  having  them  stolen.  At  all  events,  his  name  is 
cherished  by  every  Cuban  for  the  good  he  has  done, 


34  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  paseos,  theatres,  and  monuments  bear  his  great 
name  in  Havana."  The  Tacon  theatre  is  now  the 
Nacional,  and  the  Paseo  Tacon  is  now  Carlos  III. 
The  "new  prison"  is  the  Carcel,  or  jail,  at  the  north- 
ern end  of  the  Prado,  near  the  fortress  of  La  Punta. 
Don  Miguel  may  have  been  disliked  for  his  methods 
and  his  manners,  but  he  certainly  did  much  to  make 
his  rule  memorable. 

There  is  no  reliable  information  that  shows  the 
progress  of  the  island  during  the  19th  Century. 
Even  the  census  figures  are  questioned.  A  reported 
432,000  total  population  in  1804  is  evidently  no 
more  than  an  estimate,  yet  it  is  very  likely  not 
far  from  the  actual.  Concerning  their  distribution 
throughout  the  island,  and  the  number  engaged  in 
different  occupations,  there  are  no  records.  There 
are  no  acceptable  figures  regarding  the  respective 
numbers  of  whites  and  blacks.  Nor  is  there  any 
record  of  the  population  in  1895,  ^^^  Y^^^  of  ^^e  war 
for  independence.  From  the  definite  tabulation,  un- 
der American  auspices,  in  1899,  showing  1,576,797, 
it  has  been  estimated  that  the  number  in  1895,  ^^^ 
a  little  less  than  1,800,000,  the  difference  being 
represented  by  the  disasters  of  the  war,  by  the  result 
of  reconcentration,  and  by  departures  during  the 
disturbance.  The  general  result  seems  to  be  that 
the  population  was  pra(5lically  quadrupled.  A  some- 
what rough  approximation  would  show  the  blacks 
as  multiplied  by  three,  to  an  1899  total  of  505,000, 
with    the   whites    multiplied    by    four,    to    a   total   of 


^ji^^^:^ 


i 


IRON      C,  R  1  L  L  E     G  A  T  E  W  A  \' 

El   Vedado,   Suburb  of  Havana 


NEW  CUBA  35 

1,067,000.  Nor  are  there  figures  of  trade  that  afford 
any  proper  clue  to  the  growth  of  industry  and  com- 
merce. There  are  records  of  imports  and  exports 
from  about  1850  onward,  but  before  that  time  the 
matter  of  contraband  trade  introduces  an  element  of 
uncertainty.  An  American  official  pamphlet  on  Cu- 
ban trade  carries  the  statement,  "the  ascertainment 
of  full  and  exadt  details  of  the  commerce  of  Cuba 
prior  to  the  close  of  Spanish  dominion  in  the  island 
is  an  impossibility.  The  Spanish  authorities,  as  a 
rule,  published  no -complete  returns  of  Cuban  trade, 
either  foreign  or  domestic.  Except  with  regard  to 
Spain  and  the  United  States,  most  of  the  existing 
commercial  statistics  of  Cuba,  prior  to  1899,  are 
fragmentary  and  merely  approximative.  Spain  and 
the  United  States  have  always  kept  a  separate  and 
distinct  trade  account  with  Cuba;  but  the  United 
Kingdom,  France,  Germany,  and  other  European 
countries  excepting  Spain,  formerly  merged  their 
statistics  of  trade  with  Cuba  in  one  general  item 
embracing  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  under  the  heading 
of  "Spanish  West  Indies."  Since  1899,  however, 
all  the  Powers  have  kept  separate  accounts  with 
Cuba,  and  the  statistics  of  the  Cuban  Republic  have 
been  reasonably  full  and  accurate." 

Cuba's  recorded  imports  in  1894  show  a  total 
value  of  $90,800,000,  and  exports  show  a  value  of 
$102,000,000.  ¥/riting  about  the  year  1825,  Hum- 
boldt says:  "It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
imports    of  the   whole   island,    licit    and    contraband, 


36  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

estimated  at  the  ad:ual  value  of  the  goods  and  the 
slaves,  amount,  at  the  present  time,  to  fifteen  or 
sixteen  millions  of  dollars,  of  which  barely  three 
or  four  millions  are  re-exported."  The  same  author- 
ity gives  the  probable  exports  of  that  time  as  about 
^12,500,000.  The  trade  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century  must  have  been  far  below  this.  The  official 
figures  for  185 1  show  total  imports  amounting  to 
^34,000,000,  and  exports  to  ^33,000,000,  but  the 
accuracy  of  the  figures  is  open  to  question.  The 
more  important  fad:  is  that  of  a  very  large  gain  in 
population  and  in  production.  The  coffee  industry, 
that  assumed  important  proportions  during  a  part 
of  the  first  half  of  the  century,  gradually  declined 
for  the  reason  that  sugar  became  a  much  more 
profitable  crop.  Now,  Cuba  imports  most  of  its 
coffee  from  Porto  Rico.  Because  of  its  convenience 
as  a  contraband  article,  there  are  no  reliable  figures 
of  the  tobacco  output.  Prior  to  18 17,  the  com- 
modity was,  for  much  of  the  time,  a  crown  monopoly 
and,  for  the  remainder  of  the  time,  a  monopoly 
concession  to  private  companies.  In  that  year,  cul- 
tivation and  trade  became  free,  subject  to  a  tax  on 
each    planter    of   one-twentieth    of   his    production. 

As  we  shall  see,  in  another  chapter,  Cuba  at  last 
wearied  of  Spanish  exacflions  and  revolted  as  did  the 
United  States,  weary  of  British  rule  and  British 
exac5lions  and  restric5lions,  more  than  a  hundred 
years  earlier. 


Ill 

THE  COUNTRT 

""DESCRIPTION  of  the  physical  features  of  a 
))  country  seldom  makes  highly  entertaining 
^-^=^  reading,  but  it  seems  a  necessary  part  of 
a  book  of  this  kind.  Some  readers  may  find  interest 
if  not  entertainment  in  such  a  review.  The  total 
area  of  the  island,  including  a  thousand  or  more 
adjacent  islands,  islets,  and  keys,  is  given  as  44,164 
square  miles,  a  little  less  than  the  area  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  a  little  more  than  that  of  Ohio  or  Ten- 
nessee. Illustration  of  its  shape  by  some  familiar 
objedl  is  difficult,  although  various  comparisons  have 
been  attempted.  Some  old  Spanish  geographers 
gave  the  island  the  name  of  La  Lengua  de  Pajaro, 
"the  bird's  tongue."  Mr.  M.  M.  Ballou  likened  it 
to  "the  blade  of  a  Turkish  scimitar  slightly  curved 
back,  or  approaching  the  form  of  a  long,  narrow, 
crescent."  Mr.  Robert  T.  Hill  holds  that  it  "re- 
sembles a  great  hammer-headed  shark,  the  head  of 
which  forms  the  straight,  south  coast  of  the  east 
end  of  the  island,  from  which  the  sinuous  body 
extends  westward.  This  analogy  is  made  still  more 
striking  by  two  long,  finlike  strings  of  keys,  or  islets, 
which  extend  backward  along  the  opposite  coasts, 
parallel  to  the  main  body  of  the  island."     But   all 


38  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

such  comparisons  call  for  a  lively  imagination.  It 
might  be  likened  to  the  curving  handles  of  a  plow 
attached  to  a  share,  or  to  any  one  of  a  dozen  things 
that  it  does  not  at  all  clearly  resemble.  Regarding 
the  Oriente  coast,  from  Cape  Cruz  to  Cape  Maisi, 
as  a  base,  from  that  springs  a  long  and  comparatively 
slender  arm  that  runs  northwesterly  for  five  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  vicinity  of  Havana.  There,  the 
arm,  somewhat  narrowed,  turns  downward  in  a 
generally  southwestern  direcftion  for  about  two  hun- 
dred miles.  The  total  length  of  the  island,  from 
Cape  Maisi  on  the  east  to  Cape  San  Antonio  on  the 
west,  is  about  seven  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  Its 
width  varies  from  a  maximum,  in  Oriente  Province, 
of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  to  a  minimum, 
in  Havana  Province,  of  about  twenty-two  miles. 
It  has  a  general  coast  line  of  about  twenty-two 
hundred  miles,  or,  following  all  its  sinuosities,  of 
about  seven  thousand  miles.  Its  north  coast  is,  for 
much  of  its  length,  steep  and  rocky.  Throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  middle  provinces,  there  is  a 
border  of  coral  reefs  and  small  islands.  At  the  west- 
ern end,  the  north  coast  is  low,  rising  gradually 
to  the  eastward.  At  the  eastern  end,  the  north- 
ern coast  is  abrupt  and  rugged,  rising  in  a  series  of 
hills  to  the  elevations  in  the  interior.  Westward 
from  Cape  Maisi  to  Cape  Cruz,  on  the  south  coast, 
and  immediately  along  the  shore  line,  runs  a  moun- 
tain range.  From  here  westward,  broken  by  an 
occasional  hill  or  bluff,  the  coast  is  low  and  marshy. 


THE  COUNTRY  39 

Probably  the  best  description  of  the  topography 
and  the  orography  of  the  island  yet  presented  is 
that  given  by  Mr.  Robert  T.  Hill,  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey.  In  his  book  on  Cuba 
and  other  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  Mr.  Hill  says: 

**As  regards  diversity  of  relief,  Cuba's  eastern  end 
is  mountainous,  with  summits  standing  high  above 
the  adjacent  sea;  its  middle  portion  is  wide,  con- 
sisting of  gently  sloping  plains,  well-drained,  high 
above  the  sea,  and  broken  here  and  there  by  low, 
forest-clad  hills;  and  its  western  third  is  a  pid:uresque 
region  of  mountains,  with  fertile  slopes  and  valleys, 
of  different  strud:ure  and  less  altitude  than  those 
of  the  east.  Over  the  whole  is  a  mantle  of  tender 
vegetation,  rich  in  every  hue  that  a  flora  of  more 
than  three  thousand  species  can  give,  and  kept 
green  by  mists  and  gentle  rains.  Indenting  the  rock- 
bound  coasts  are  a  hundred  pouch-shaped  harbors 
such  as  are  but  rarely  found  in  the  other  islands 
and  shores  of  the  American  Mediterranean. 

"But,  at  the  outset  the  reader  should  dispossess 
his  mind  of  any  preconceived  idea  that  the  island 
of  Cuba  is  in  any  sense  a  physical  unit.  On  the 
contrary,  it  presents  a  diversity  of  topographic, 
climatic,  and  cultural  features,  which,  as  distributed, 
divide  the  island  into  at  least  three  distind:  natural 
provinces,  for  convenience  termed  the  eastern,  central, 
and  western  regions.  The  distindl  types  of  relief 
include  regions  of  high  mountains,  low  hills,  dissedled 
plateaus,  intermontane  valleys,   and  coastal  swamps. 


40  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

With  the  exception  of  a  strip  of  the  south-central 
coast,  the  island,  as  a  whole,  stands  well  above  the 
sea,  is  thoroughly  drained,  and  presents  a  rugged 
asped:  when  viewed  from  the  sea.  About  one-fourth 
of  the  total  area  is  mountainous,  three-fifths  are 
rolling  plain,  valleys,  and  gentle  arable  slopes,  and 
the    remainder    is    swampy. 

"The  island  border  on  the  north  presents  a  low 
clifF  topography,  with  a  horizontal  sky-line  from 
Matanzas  westward,  gradually  decreasing  from  five 
hundred  feet  at  Matanzas  to  one  hundred  feet  on 
the  west.  The  coast  of  the  east  end  is  abrupt  and 
rugged,  presenting  on  both  the  north  and  south 
sides  a  series  of  remarkable  terraces,  rising  in  stair- 
like arrangement  to  six  hundred  feet  or  more,  repre- 
senting successive  pauses  or  stages  in  the  elevation 
of  the  island  above  the  sea,  and  constituting  most 
striking  scenic  features.  About  one-half  the  Cuban 
coast  is  bordered  by  keys,  which  are  largely  old  reef 
rock,  the  creations  of  the  same  coral-builders  that 
may  now  be  seen  through  the  transparent  waters 
still  at  work  on  the  modern  shallows,  decking  the 
rocks  and  sands  with  their  graceful  and  many  colored 
tufts  of  animal  foliage." 

Mr.  Hill  summarizes  the  general  appearance  of 
the  island,  thus:  "Santiago  de  Cuba  (now  called 
Oriente)  is  predominantly  a  mountainous  region  of 
high  relief,  especially  along  the  coasts,  with  many 
interior  valleys.  Puerto  Principe  (now  Camaguey) 
and  Santa  Clara  are  broken  regions  of  low  mountain 


THE  COUNTRY  41 

relief,  diversified  by  extensive  valleys.  Matanzas 
and  Havana  are  vast  stretches  of  level  cultivated 
plain,  with  only  a  few  hills  of  relief.  Pinar  del  Rio  is 
centrally  mountainous,  with  fertile  coastward  slopes.'' 
The  notable  elevations  of  the  island  are  the  Cordil- 
leras de  los  Organos,  or  Organ  Mountains,  in  Pinar 
del  Rio,  of  which  an  eastward  extension  appears  in  the 
Tetas  de  Managua,  the  Areas  de  Canasi,  the  Escalera 
de  Jaruco,  the  Pan  de  Matanzas,  and  other  minor 
elevations  in  Havana  and  Matanzas  Provinces.  In 
Santa  Clara  and  Camaguey,  the  range  is  represented 
by  crest  lines  and  plateaus  along  the  north  shore, 
and  finally  runs  into  the  hill  and  mountain  maze  of 
Oriente.  In  the  south-central  sedlion  of  the  island, 
a  somewhat  isolated  group  of  elevations  appears, 
culminating  in  El  Potrerillo  at  a  height  of  nearly 
3,000  feet.  In  Oriente,  immediately  along  the  south 
coast  line,  is  the  precipitous  Sierra  Maestra,  reaching 
its  greatest  altitude  in  the  Pico  del  Turquino,  with 
an  elevation  of  approximately  8,500  feet.  Another 
elevation,  near  Santiago,  known  as  La  Gran  Piedra, 
is  estimated  at  5,200  feet.  All  these  heights  are 
densely  wooded.  From  the  tops  of  some  of  them, 
east,  west,  and  central,  the  views  are  marvellously 
beautiful,  but  the  summits  of  most  are  reached  only 
with  considerable  difficulty.  One  of  the  most  notable 
of  these  view  points,  and  one  of  the  most  easily 
reached,  is  the  height  immediately  behind  the  city 
of  Matanzas,  overlooking  the  famous  Yumuri  valley. 
The  valley  is   a   broad,   shallow  bowl,   some  five  or 


42  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

six  miles  in  diameter,  enclosed  by  steeply  sloping 
walls  of  five  to  six  hundred  feet  in  height.  Through 
it  winds  the  Yumuri  River.  It  is  best  seen  in  the 
early  forenoon,  or  the  late  afternoon,  when  there 
come  the  shadows  and  the  lights  that  are  largely 
killed  by  the  more  vertical  rays  of  a  midday  sun. 
At  those  hours,  it  is  a  scene  of  entrancing  loveliness. 
There  are  views,  elsewhere,  covering  wider  expanses, 
but  none,  I  think,  of  equal  beauty. 

The  vicinity  of  Matanzas  affords  a  spedlacle  of 
almost  enchantment  for  the  sight-seer,  and  of  deep 
interest  for  the  geologist.  Somewhat  more  than 
fifty  years  ago,  an  accident  revealed  the  beautiful 
caves  of  Bellamar,  two  or  three  miles  from  the 
city,  and  easily  reached  by  carriage.  Caves  ought 
to  be  cool.  These  are  not,  but  they  are  well  worth 
all  the  perspiration  it  costs  to  see  them.  They  are 
a  show  place,  and  guides  are  always  available.  In 
size,  the  caverns  are  not  comparable  with  the  caves 
of  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  but  they  far  excel  in 
beauty.  They  are  about  three  miles  in  extent, 
and  their  lower  levels  are  said  to  be  about  five 
hundred  feet  from  the  surface.  The  rock  is  white 
limestone,  in  which  are  chambers  and  passageways, 
stalactites  and  stalagmites  innumerable.  These  have 
their  somewhat  fantastic  but  not  unfitting  names, 
such  as  the  Gothic  Temple,  the  Altar,  the  Guardian 
Spirit,  the  Fountain  of  Snow,  and  Columbus'  Mantle. 
The  place  has  been  called  "a  dream  of  fairyland," 
a    fairly    appropriate   description.    The    colors    are 


THE  COUNTRY  43 

snow-white,  pink,  and  shades  of  yellow,  and  many 
of  the  forms  are  wonderfully  beautiful.  There  are 
many  other  caves  in  the  island,  like  Cotilla,  in  the 
Guines  region  not  far  from  Havana,  others  in  the 
Cubitas  Mountains  in  Camaguey  Province,  and  still 
others  in  Oriente,  but  in  comparison  with  Bellamar 
they  are  little  else  than  holes  in  the  ground.  The 
trip  through  these  remarkable  aisles  and  chambers 
occupies  some  three  or  four  hours. 

Cuba  is  not  big  enough  for  rivers  of  size.  There 
are  innumerable  streams,  for  the  island  generally 
is  well-watered.  The  only  river  of  real  importance 
is  the  Cauto,  in  Oriente  Province.  This  is  the 
longest  and  the  largest  river  in  the  island.  It  rises 
in  the  hills  north  of  Santiago,  and  winds  a  devious 
way  westward  for  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
emptying  at  last  into  the  Gulf  of  Buena  Esperanza, 
north  of  the  city  of  Manzanillo.  It  is  navigable  for 
small  boats,  according  to  the  stage  of  the  water,  from 
seventy-five  to  a  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth. 
Numerous  smaller  streams  flow  to  the  coast  on  both 
north  and  south.  Some,  that  are  really  estuaries, 
are  called  rivers.  Very  few  of  them  serve  any  com- 
mercial purposes.  There  are  a  few  water  areas  called 
lakes,  but  they  are  really  little  other  than  ponds. 
On  the  south  coast,  diredlly  opposite  Matanzas, 
lies  a  vast  swamp  known  as  the  Cienega  de  Zapata. 
It  occupies  an  area  of  about  seventy-five  miles  in 
length  and  about  thirty  miles  in  width,  almost  a 
dead  flat,  and  pradlically  at  sea-level.     Here  and  there 


44  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

are  open  spaces  of  water  or  clusters  of  trees,  but 
most  of  it  is  bog  and  quagmire  and  dense  mangrove 
thickets.  Along  the  coast  are  numerous  harbors, 
large  and  small,  that  are  or,  by  dredging,  could  be 
made  available  for  commercial  purposes.  Among 
these,  on  the  north  coast,  from  west  to  east,  are 
Bahia  Honda,  Mariel,  Havana,  Matanzas,  Nuevitas, 
Nipe  Bay,  and  Baracoa.  On  the  south,  from  east 
to  west,  are  Guantanamo,  Santiago,  Manzanillo, 
Cienfuegos,  and  Batabano.  At  all  of  these,  there 
are  now  cities  or  towns  with  trade  either  by  steamers 
or  small  sailing  vessels.  Among  the  interesting 
physical  curiosities  of  the  island  are  the  numerous 
** disappearing  rivers."  Doubtless  the  acflion  of  water 
on  limestone  has  left,  in  many  places,  underground 
chambers  and  tunnels  into  which  the  streams  have 
found  an  opening  and  in  which  they  disappear, 
perhaps  to  emerge  again  and  perhaps  to  find  their 
way  to  the  sea  without  reappearance.  This  seems 
to  explain  numerous  fresh-water  springs  among  the 
keys  and  ofF-shore.  The  Rio  San  Antonio  quite 
disappears  near  San  Antonio  de  los  Banos.  Near 
Guantanamo,  a  cascade  drops  three  hundred  feet 
into  a  cavern  and  reappears  a  short  distance  away. 
Such  disappearing  rivers  are  not  unknown  elsewhere 
but  Cuba  has  several  of  them. 

The  Census  Report  of  1907,  prepared  under  Ameri- 
can auspices,  states  that  "the  climate  of  Cuba  is 
tropical  and  insular.     There  are  no  extremes  of  heat, 


THE  COUNTRY  45 

and  there  is  no  cold  weather."  This  is  quite  true 
if  the  records  of  a  thermometer  are  the  standard; 
quite  untrue  if  measured  by  the  sensations  of  the 
human  body.  It  is  true  that,  in  Havana,  for  instance, 
the  thermometer  seldom  exceeds  90°  in  the  hottest 
months,  and  rarely  if  ever  goes  below  50°  in  the 
coldest.  But  a  day  with  the  thermometer  anywhere 
in  the  80s  may  seem  to  a  northern  body  very  hot, 
and  a  day  with  the  thermometer  in  the  50s  is  cold 
for  anyone,  whether  a  native  or  a  visitor.  There 
is  doubtless  a  physical  reason  for  the  fadl  that  a  hot 
day  in  the  north  seems  hotter  than  the  same  tem- 
perature in  the  south,  while  a  day  that  seems,  in 
the  north,  only  pleasantly  cool,  seems  bitterly  cold 
in  the  tropics.  When  the  thermometer  drops  below 
60°  in  Havana,  the  coachmen  blanket  their  horses, 
the  people  put  on  all  the  clothes  they  have,  and  all 
visitors  who  are  at  all  sensitive  to  low  temperature 
go  about  shivering.  Steam  heat  and  furnaces  are 
unknown,  and  fireplaces  are  a  rarity.  Yet,  in  gen- 
eral, the  variations  are  not  wide,  either  from  day  to 
day  or  when  measured  by  seasons.  The  extremes 
are  the  infrequent  exceptions.  Nor  is  there  wide 
difference  between  day  and  night.  Taking  the  island 
as  a  whole,  the  average  mean  temperature  for  July, 
the  hottest  month,  is  about  82°,  and  for  January, 
the  coolest  month,  about  71°.  The  mean  for  the 
year  is  about  "j^^^  as  compared  with  52°  for  New 
York,  48°  for  Chicago,  62°  for  Los  Angeles,  and  68° 
for  New  Orleans.     There  are  places  that,  by  reason 


46  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

of  exposure  to  prevailing  winds,  or  distance  from  the 
coast,  are  hotter  or  cooler  than  other  places.  Havana 
is  one  of  the  cool  spots,  that  is,  relatively  cool.  But 
no  one  goes  there  in  search  of  cold.  The  yearly- 
range  in  Havana,  from  maximum  to  minimum, 
rarely  if  ever  exceeds  fifty  degrees,  and  is  usually 
somewhat  below  that,  while  the  range  in  New  York, 
Chicago,  and  St.  Louis  is  usually  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  degrees.  The  par- 
ticular cause  of  discomfort  for  those  unused  to  it,  is 
the  humidity  that  prevails  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  The  worst  season  for  this,  however,  is 
the  mid-year  months  when  few  people  visit  the  island. 
The  winter  months,  locally  known  as  the  ''  invierno,^' 
a  term  to  be  associated  with  our  word  "vernal" 
and  not  with  "infernal,"  are  almost  invariably  de- 
lightful, bringing  to  northern  systems  a  pleasurable 
physical  laziness  that  is  attended  by  a  mental  in- 
difference to,  or  satisfadlion  with,  the  sensation. 

The  rainfall  varies  so  widely  in  different  parts  of 
the  island,  and  from  year  to  year,  that  exadl  informa- 
tion is  difficult.  Taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  little  if  at 
all  greater  than  it  is  in  most  places  in  the  United 
States.  We  have  our  arid  spots,  like  El  Paso,  Fresno, 
Boise,  Phoenix,  and  Winnemucca,  where  only  a  few 
inches  fall  in  a  year,  just  as  Cuba  has  a  few  places 
where  the  fall  may  reach  sixty-five  or  seventy  inches 
in  a  year.  But  the  average  fall  in  Havana,  Matanzas, 
Cienfuegos,  and  Santiago,  is  little  if  any  greater 
than  in   Boston,  New  York,  or  Washington.     A  dif- 


o  ^ 
Pi     ^ 


THE  COUNTRY  47 

ference  appears  In  the  fad:  that  about  three-quarters 
of  Cuba's  precipitation  comes  between  the  first  of 
May  and  the  first  of  Odober.  But  the  term  "wet 
season"  does  not  mean  that  it  rains  all  the  time,  or 
every  day,  any  more  than  the  term  "dry  season" 
means  that  during  those  months  it  does  not  rain  at 
all.  At  times  during  the  winter,  or  dry  season, 
there  come  storms  that  are  due  to  unusual  cold  in 
the  United  States.  These  are  known  in  Cuba,  as 
they  are  in  Texas,  as  "northers."  High  winds 
sweep  furiously  across  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  piHng  up 
huge  seas  on  the  Cuban  coast,  and  bringing  what, 
in  the  island,  is  the  substitute  for  cold  weather,  usu- 
ally attended  by  rain  and  sometimes  by  a  torrent 
of  it.  The  prevailing  wind  in  Cuba  is  the  northeast 
trade-wind.  In  summer  when  the  sun  is  diredly 
overhead  this  wind  is  nearly  east,  while  in  winter  it 
is  northeast.  The  proper  way  to  avoid  such  dis- 
comfort as  attends  humidity  accompanying  a  ther- 
mometer in  the  80s,  is  to  avoid  haste  in  movement, 
to  saunter  instead  of  hurrying,  to  ride  instead  of 
walking,  to  eat  and  drink  in  moderation,  and  where- 
ever  possible,  to  keep  in  the  shade.  Many  of  those 
who  eat  heartily  and  hurry  always,  will,  after  a  few 
days,  be  quite  sure  that  they  have  yellow  fever  or 
some  other  tropical  disorder,  but  will  be  entirely 
mistaken  about  it.  Modern  sanitation  in  Cuba  has 
made  yellow  fever  a  remote  possibility,  and  the 
drinking  water  in  Havana  is  as  pure  as  any  in  the 
world. 


48  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Most  of  the  official  descriptions  of  the  flora  of 
Cuba  appear  to  be  copied  from  Robert  T.  Hill's 
book,  published  in  1898.  As  nothing  better  is  avail- 
able, it  may  be  used  here.  He  says:  *'The  surface 
of  the  island  is  clad  in  a  voluptuous  floral  mantle, 
which,  from  its  abundance  and  beauty,  first  caused 
Cuba  to  be  designated  the  Pearl  of  the  Antilles. 
In  addition  to  those  introduced  from  abroad,  over 
3,350  native  plants  have  been  catalogued.  The  flora 
includes  nearly  all  characteristic  forms  of  the  other 
West  Indies,  the  southern  part  of  Florida,  and  the 
Central  American  seaboard.  Nearly  all  the  large 
trees  of  the  Mexican  Tierra  Caliente,  so  remarkable 
for  their  size,  foliage,  and  fragrance,  reappear  in 
western  Cuba.  Numerous  species  of  palm,  including 
the  famous  royal  palm,  occur,  while  the  pine  trees, 
elsewhere  charadleristic  of  the  temperate  zone  and 
the  high  altitudes  of  the  tropics,  are  found  associated 
with  palms  and  mahoganies  in  the  province  of  Pinar 
del  Rio  and  the  Isle  of  Pines,  both  of  which  take 
their  name  from  this  tree.  Among  other  woods  are 
the  lignum-vitae,  granadilla,  the  coco-wood,  and  the 
Cedrela  Odorata  (fragrant  cedar)  which  is  used  for 
cigar  boxes  and  the  lining  of  cabinet  work." 

In  quoting  the  number  of  native  plants,  Mr.  Hill 
uses  a  report  somewhat  antiquated.  Later  estimates 
place  the  number  as  between  five  and  six  thousand. 
Flowers  are  abundant,  flowers  on  vines,  plants, 
shrubs,  and  trees,  tall  stalks  with  massive  heads, 
and  dainty  little  blossoms  by  the  wayside.     Brilliant 


THE  COUNTRY  49 

flowering  trees  are  planted  to  line  the  roadsides. 
Among  all  the  tree-growths,  the  royal  palm  is  notable. 
Scoffers  have  likened  it  to  "a  feather  duster  stood 
on  end,"  but  it  is  the  prominent  feature  in  most  of 
Cuba's  landscape,  and  it  serves  many  purposes  other 
than  that  of  mere  decoration.  From  its  stem  the 
Cuban  peasant  builds  his  little  cottage  which  he 
roofs  with  its  leaves.  Medicinal  qualities  are  claimed 
for  its  roots.  From  different  parts  of  the  tree,  a  wide 
variety  of  useful  articles  is  made,  plates,  buckets, 
basins,  and  even  a  kettle  in  which  water  may  be 
boiled.  The  huge  clusters  of  seeds  are  excellent 
food  for  animals,  and  I  have  heard  it  said,  though 
without  proper  confirmation,  that  "a  royal  palm 
will  keep  a  hog."  Almost  invariably,  its  presence 
indicates  a  rich  soil,  as  it  rarely  grows  in  areas  of 
poor  land.  The  forest  area  of  the  island  is  not  known 
with  exactness,  and  is  variously  estimated  at  from 
about  six  thousand  square  miles  to  about  sixteen 
thousand.  The  difference  probably  represents  the 
opinion  of  individual  investigators  as  to  what  is 
forest.  About  one-third  of  the  total  is  reported  as 
in  Oriente,  another  third  in  Camaguey,  and  the  re- 
mainder scattered  through  the  four  remaining  prov- 
inces. A  part  of  it  is  "public  land,"  that  is,  owned 
by  the  central  government,  but  a  greater  part  is 
of  private  ownership  under  old  Spanish  grants. 
Much  of  it  is  dense  jungle  through  which  a  way 
can  be  made  only  by  hacking,  almost  foot  by  foot. 
A  good  deal  of  it  has  already  been  cut  over  for  its 


50  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

most  valuable  timber.  Most  of  the  woods  bear 
names  entirely  unfamiliar  to  us.  Some  are  used 
as  cabinet  woods,  and  some  for  tanning,  for  oils, 
dyes,   gums,   or  fibres. 

Cuba  has  few  four-footed  native  wild  animals. 
There  are  rabbits,  but  their  nativity  is  not  quite 
certain.  There  are  deer,  but  it  is  known  that  their 
ancestors  were  brought  from  some  other  country. 
There  are  wild  dogs,  wild  cats,  and  wild  pigs,  but  all 
are  only  domestic  animals  run  wild. 

Perhaps  the  only  animal  of  the  kind  known  to  be 
native  is  the  jutia,  sometimes  spelled,  as  pronounced, 
hutia.  Some  observers  have  referred  to  it  as  a  rat, 
but  it  climbs  trees  and  grows  to  the  size  of  a  wood- 
chuck,  or  groundhog.  It  is  sometimes  eaten  and  is 
said  to  be  quite  palatable.  Reptiles  are  fairly  com- 
mon, but  none  of  them  is  dangerous.  The  best 
known  is  the  maja,  a  snake  that  grows  to  a  length, 
sometimes,  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  The  country 
people  not  infrequently  make  of  it  a  kind  of  house 
pet.  When  that  is  done,  the  reptile  often  makes  its 
home  in  the  cottage  thatch,  living  on  birds  and  mice. 
They  are  dull  and  sluggish  in  motion.  While  visiting 
a  sugar  plantation  a  few  years  ago  one  of  the  hands 
asked  if  I  should  be  interested  by  their  maja.  He 
dipped  his  hand  into  a  nearby  water-barrel  in  the 
bottom  of  which  two  of  them  were  closely  coiled. 
He  dragged  out  one  of  perhaps  ten  or  twelve  feet 
in    length    and    four    or    five    inches    in    diameter, 


O  J  o  c  «  c  t 


c  c  c  c  c 


THE  COUNTRY  51 

handling  it  as  he  would  the  same  length  of  hawser. 
He  hung  it  over  the  limb  of  a  tree  so  that  I  could 
have  a  good  chance  for  a  pidlure  of  it.  The  thing 
squirmed  slowly  to  the  ground  and  crawled  slug- 
gishly away  to  the  place  from  which  it  had  been 
taken.  Of  bird-life  there  is  a  large  representation, 
both  native  and  migratory.  Among  them  are  some 
fifty  species  of  "waders."  In  some  parts  of  the 
island,  the  very  unpleasant  land-crab,  about  the  size 
of  a  soup-plate,  seems  to  exist  in  millions,  although 
thousands  is  probably  nearer  the  adlual.  The  Ameri- 
can soldiers  made  their  acquaintance  in  large  numbers 
at  the  time  of  the  Santiago  campaign.  They  are 
not  a  proper  article  of  food.  They  have  a  salt-water 
relative  that  is  most  excellent  eating,  as  is  also  the 
lobster  (langosta)  of  Cuban  waters.  In  the  swamp 
known  as  the  Cienega  de  Zapata  are  both  alligators 
and  crocodiles,  some  of  them  of  quite  imposing 
dimensions. 

The  insert  life  of  the  island  is  extensive.  From 
personal  experience,  particularly  behind  the  search- 
Hght  of  an  automobile  that  drew  them  in  swarms,  I, 
should  say  that  the  island  would  be  a  rich  field 
for  the  entomologist.  There  are  mosquitos,  gnats, 
beetles,  moths,  butterflies,  spiders,  and  scorpions. 
The  bites  of  some  of  the  spiders  and  the  stings  of 
the  scorpions  are,  of  course,  uncomfortable,  but 
they  are  neither  fatal  nor  dangerous.  With  the 
exception  of  an  occasional  mosquito,  and  a  perhaps 
more  than  occasional  flea,  the  visitor  to  cities  only  is 


52  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

likely  to  encounter  few  of  the  members  of  these 
branches  of  Cuban  zoology.  There  is  one  of  the 
beetle  family,  however,  that  is  extremely  interesting. 
That  is  the  cucullo,  which  Mr.  Hazard,  in  his  book 
on  Cuba,  calls  a  "bright  peripatetic  candle-bearer, 
by  whose  brilliant  light  one  can  not  only  walk, 
but  even  read."  They  are  really  a  kind  of  glorified 
firefly,  much  larger  than  ours,  and  with  a  much 
more  brilliant  hght.  I  do  not  know  their  candle- 
power,  but  Mr.  Hazard  exaggerates  little  if  at  all 
in  the  matter  of  their  brilhancy. 

While  those  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  are  the 
most  notable  features  in  this  particular  part  of  the 
Cuban  field,  there  are  others,  though  of  perhaps 
less  importance,  to  which  reference  might  be  made. 
Among  them  would  be  the  sponge  fisheries  of  the 
coast  in  the  neighborhood  of  Batabano,  and  the 
numerous  mineral  springs,  some  of  them  really  having, 
and  others  supposed  to  have,  remarkable  curative 
qualities.  A  half  century  or  so  ago,  a  number  of 
places  not  far  from  Havana  were  resorts  to  which 
rich  and  poor  went  to  drink  or  to  bathe  in  springs 
hot  or  cold  or  sulphurous  or  otherwise,  for  their 
healing.  Among  these  were  the  baths  at  San  Diego, 
near  the  Organ  Mountains  in  Pinar  del  Rio;  Santa 
Rita,  near  Guanabacoa  in  Havana  Province;  others 
near  Marianao,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city;  and 
San  Antonio,  also  in  Havana  Province.  Most  of 
these  places  now  appear  to  have  lost  their  popularity 


THE  COUNTRY  53 

if  not  their  medicinal  virtues.  Some,  like  those  at 
Madruga,  not  far  from  Havana,  still  have  a  con- 
siderable patronage.  Something  may  also  be  said 
of  earthquakes  and  hurricanes.  The  former  occur, 
on  a  small  scale,  more  or  less  frequently  in  Oriente, 
and  much  less  frequently  and  of  less  severity  in 
Havana.  The  latter  come  from  time  to  time  to 
work  disaster  to  Cuban  industries  and,  sometimes 
but  not  frequently,  to  cause  loss  of  life  and  the 
destrucffcion  of  buildings.  They  rarely  occur  except 
in  the  late  summer  and  the  autumn. 

Nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  Alexander  Humboldt, 
a  traveller  and  a  scientist,  wrote  thus  of  the  island 
of  Cuba:  '' Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  deep 
rivers  and  the  unequal  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  island 
of  Cuba  presents  on  every  hand  a  most  varied  and 
agreeable  country  from  its  undulating  charadler,  its 
ever-springing  verdure,  and  the  variety  of  its  vegetable 
formations/' 


IV 

THE  OLD  HAVANA 

AMONG  the  many  pic5lures  stored  away  in 
the  album  of  my  memory,  there  are  two 
that  stand  out  more  vividly  than  any 
others.  The  subjedls  are  separated  by  half  the 
world's  circumference.  One  is  the  sunsets  at  Jolo,  in 
the  southern  PhiHppines.  There  the  sun  sank  into 
the  western  sea  in  a  blaze  of  cloud-glory,  between  the 
low-lying  islands  on  either  hand  with  the  rich  green 
of  their  foliage  turned  to  purple  shadows.  The  other 
is  the  sunrise  at  Havana,  seen  from  the  deck  of  a 
steamer  in  the  harbor.  The  long,  soft  shadows  and 
the  mellow  light  fell  on  the  blue  and  gray  and  green 
of  the  buildings  of  the  city,  and  on  the  red-tiled 
roofs,  with  the  hills  for  a  background  in  one-half 
of  the  picture,  and  the  gleaming  water  of  the  gulf 
in  the  background  of  the  other  half.  I  had  seen 
the  long  stretch  of  the  southern  coast  of  the  island, 
from  Cape  Antonio  to  Cape  Maisi,  while  on  an 
excursion  with  a  part  of  the  army  of  occupation 
sent  to  Porto  Rico  in  the  summer  of  1898,  and  had 
set  foot  on  Cuban  soil  at  Daiquiri,  but  Havana  in 
the  morning  light,  on  January  2,  1899,  was  my  first 
real   Cuban   experience.     It    remains    an   ineffaceable 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  55 

memory.  Of  my  surroundings  and  experiences  aside 
from  that,  I  have  no  distind:  recolledlion.  All 
was  submerged  by  that  one  picflure,  and  quickly 
buried  by  the  acflivities  into  which  I  was  immediately 
plunged.  I  do  not  recall  the  length  of  time  we  were 
held  on  board  for  medical  inspection,  nor  whether 
the  customs  inspecflion  was  on  board  or  ashore.  I 
recall  the  trip  from  the  ship  to  the  wharf,  in  one  of 
the  little  sailboats  then  used  for  the  purpose,  rather 
because  of  later  experiences  than  because  of  the  first 
one.  I  have  no  purpose  here  to  write  a  history  of 
those  busy  days,  filled  as  they  were  with  absorbing 
interest,  with  much  that  was  pathetic  and  not  a 
Httle  that  was  amusing.  I  have  seen  that  morning 
pidure  many  times  since,  but  never  less  beautiful, 
never  less  impressive.  Nowadays,  it  is  lost  to  most 
travellers  because  the  crossing  from  Key  West  is 
made  in  the  daytime,  the  boat  reaching  Havana  in 
the  late  afternoon.  Sometimes  there  is  a  partial 
compensation  in  the  sunset  pidlure,  but  I  have  never 
seen  that  when  it  really  rivalled  the  pidlure  at  the 
beginning  of  the  day. 

The  visitor  to  Cuba,  unfamiliar  with  the  island, 
should  take  it  leisurely.  It  is  not  a  place  through 
which  the  tourist  may  rush,  guide  book  in  hand, 
making  snapshots  with  a  camera,  and  checking  off 
places  of  interest  as  they  are  visited.  Pidlur- 
esqueness  and  quaintness  are  not  at  all  lacking, 
but  there  are  no  noble  cathedrals,  no  vast  museums 
of  art  and  antiquity,  no  snow-clad  mountains.     There 


56  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

is  a  charm  of  light  and  shade  and  color  that  is  to 
be  absorbed  slowly  rather  than  swallowed  at  a  single 
gulp.  It  is  emphatically  a  place  in  which  to  dawdle. 
Let  those  who  are  obliged  to  do  so,  work  and  hurry; 
the  visitor  and  the  traveller  should  take  it  without 
haste.  It  is  far  better  to  see  Havana  and  its  vicin- 
ity slowly  and  enjoyably,  and  look  at  pictures  of 
the  rest  of  the  country,  than  it  is  to  rush  through  the 
island  merely  for  the  sake  of  doing  so.  In  his  essay 
on  The  Moral  of  Landscape,  Mr.  Ruskin  said  that 
"all  travelling  becomes  dull  in  exad:  proportion  to 
its  rapidity.''  Nowhere  is  that  more  true  than  it  is 
in  Cuba.  There  is  very  little  in  all  the  island  that 
cannot  be  seen  in  Havana  and  its  immediate  vicinity. 
It  is  well  to  see  the  other  places  if  one  has  ample 
time,  but  they  should  not  be  seen  at  the  expense 
of  a  proper  enjoyment  of  Havana  and  its  neighbor- 
hood. In  Havana  are  buildings  as  old  and  buildings 
as  beautiful  as  any  in  the  island.  In  its  vicinity 
are  sugar  plantations,  tobacco  fields,  pineapples, 
cocoanuts,  mangoes,  royal  palms,  ceibas,  peasants' 
homes,  typical  towns  and  villages,  all  the  life  of 
the  people  in  the  city  and  country.  The  common 
American  desire  to  "see  it  all"  in  a  few  days,  is 
fatal  to  the  greatest  enjoyment,  and  productive 
mainly  of  physical  fatigue  and  mental  confusion.  It 
is  the  misfortune  of  most  travellers  that  they  carry 
with  them  only  the  vaguest  of  ideas  of  what  they 
want  to  see.  They  have  heard  of  Cuba,  of  Havana, 
the  Morro,  the  Prado,  of  a  sunny  island  in  the  midst 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  57 

of  a  sapphire  sea.  While  it  is  true  that  almost 
everything  in  Cuba  is  worth  seeing,  it  is  best  to 
acquire,  before  going,  some  idea  of  the  exhibition. 
That  saves  time  and  many  steps.  The  old  city  wall. 
La  Fuerza,  and  La  Punta,  are  mere  piles  of  masonry, 
more  or  less  dull  and  uninteresting  unless  one  knows 
something  of  their  history.  The  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  any  country  become  increasingly  interesting 
if  one  knows  something  about  them,  the  reason  for 
them. 

It  is  only  a  short  trip  to  the  Castillo  del  Principe, 
the  fortress  that  crowns  the  hill  to  the  west  of  the 
city.  From  that  height,  the  city  and  the  harbor 
are  seen  below,  to  the  eastward.  Across  the  bay, 
on  the  heights  at  the  entrance,  are  the  frowning 
walls  of  Morro  Castle  surmounted  by  the  towering 
light-house,  and  the  no  less  grim  walls  of  La  Cabana. 
The  bay  itself  is  a  sprawling,  shapeless  body  of  water 
with  a  narrow  neck  connedling  it  with  the  Florida 
Straits.  Into  the  western  side  of  the  bay  the  city 
thrusts  itself  in  a  shape  that,  on  a  large  map,  sug- 
gests more  than  anything  else  the  head  and  neck 
of  an  over-fed  bulldog.  Into  this  bay,  in  1508,  came 
Sebastian  Ocampo,  said  to  be  the  first  white  man 
to  visit  the  spot.  He  entered  for  the  purpose  of  ca- 
reening his  little  vessels  in  order  to  remove  the 
barnacles  and  accumulated  weed-growth.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  spot  was  discovered  earlier,  but  there 
is  no  record  of  the  discovery  if  such  was  made. 
Ocampo    gave    it    the    name    of   Puerto    de    Catenas. 


58  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  next  record  is  of  its  occupation,  in  15 19.  Four 
years  earlier,  Diego  Velasquez  had  left  a  little  colony 
near  what  is  now  called  Batabano,  on  the  south 
coast.  He  gave  the  place  the  name  of  San  Cristobal 
de  la  Habana,  in  memory  of  the  illustrious  navigator 
and  discoverer.  Habana,  or  Havana,  is  a  term  of 
aboriginal  origin.  It  proved  to  be  an  uncomfortable 
place  of  residence,  and  in  15 19  the  people  moved 
across  the  island  to  the  Puerto  de  Catenas,  taking 
with  them  the  name  given  to  the  earlier  settlement, 
and  substituting  it  for  the  name  given  by  Ocampo. 
After  a  time,  all  was  dropped  except  the  present 
title,  Habana,  or  more  commonly  by  English-speaking 
people,  Havana.  It  was  not  much  of  a  place  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  in  1538  it  was  sacked  and 
burned  by  a  French  pirate,  one  of  the  many,  of 
different  nations,  who  carried  on  a  very  lively  buc- 
caneering business  in  those  and  in  later  years  in 
West  Indian  waters.  Hernando  de  Soto  was  then 
governor  of  the  island,  with  headquarters  at  the 
then  capital  city,  Santiago  de  Cuba.  He  proceeded 
at  once  to  the  scene  of  destrudlion.  On  his  arrival, 
he  ordered  the  eredlion  of  a  fortress.  Some  of  the 
work  then  done  still  remains  in  the  old  structure 
near  the  Palace,  at  the  foot  of  Calle  O'Reilly,  known 
as  La  Fuerza.  A  few  years  before  this  time,  Hernan 
Cortes  had  conquered  Mexico,  then  called  New 
Spain,  and  a  business  between  Old  Spain  and  New 
Spain  soon  developed.  The  harbor  of  Havana 
made    a    convenient    halting-place    on    the    voyages 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  59 

between  the  two,  and  the  settlement  assumed  a 
steadily  hicreasing  importance.  A  new  governor, 
Gonzales  Perez  de  Angulo,  who  arrived  in  1549, 
decided  to  make  it  his  place  of  residence.  The  year 
1552  is  generally  given  as  the  time  of  the  creation 
of  Havana  as  the  capital  city.  It  was  at  that  time 
made  the  residence  city  of  the  Governors,  by  their 
own  choice,  but  it  was  not  officially  estabHshed  as 
the  capital  until  1589.  The  fortress  erecfled  by  order 
of  de  Soto  proved  somewhat  ineffective.  In  1554, 
another  French  marauder  attacked  and  destroyed 
the  town.  The  principal  industry  of  those  early 
days  was  cattle-raising,  a  considerable  market  being 
developed  for  export  to  Mexico,  and  for  the  supply 
of  vessels  that  entered  the  harbor  for  food  and 
water. 

The  continuance  of  incursions  by  pirates  made  nec- 
essary some  further  provision  for  the  defence  of  the 
city.  In  1589,  La  Fuerza  was  enlarged  and  strength- 
ened, and  the  construd:ion  of  Morro  Castle  was  begun. 
To  this  work  was  added  La  Punta,  the  little  fortress 
on  the  western  shore  of  the  entrance,  at  the  point  of 
the  angle  now  formed  by  the  Prado  and  the  Male- 
con.  These  ancient  strucftures,  of  pradlically  no  value 
whatever  in  modern  warfare,  are  now  among  the 
most  pidiuresque  points  of  interest  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Another,  in  the  same  class,  of  which  only  a 
little  now  remains,  is  of  a  later  time.  This  is  the 
old  city  wall,  the  construction  of  which  was  begun  in 
167 1.     Following   the   simile   of  the   bull-dog's   head, 


6o  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

a  tradl  of  land,  formerly  known  as  the  Arsenal  yard, 
and  now  the  central  railway  station,  lies  tucked 
away  immediately  under  the  animal's  jaw.  From 
there  to  a  point  on  the  north  shore,  near  La  Punta, 
in  a  slightly  curving  line,  a  high  wall  was  eredled  for 
the  purpose  of  defence  on  the  western  or  landward 
side.  The  old  city  lay  entirely  in  the  area  defined 
by  this  western  wall  and  the  shore  of  the  harbor. 
At  intervals,  gates  afforded  exit  to  the  country  be- 
yond, heavy  gates  that  could  be  closed  to  exclude  any 
possible  attacking  party.  The  fortifications  erected 
from  time  to  time  were  supposed  to  afford  a  system 
of  efPecflive  defence  for  the  city.  They  are  now  little 
else  than  picfluresque  features  in  the  landscape, 
points  of  interest  for  visitors.  Taking  the  chain  in 
its  order.  El  Morro  stands  on  the  point  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  Just  beyond 
it  is  La  Cabaiia.  About  a  half  a  mile  to  the  east 
of  this  was  the  stone  fort  on  the  hill  of  San  Diego. 
Three  miles  east  of  the  Morro,  on  the  shore  at  Coji- 
mar,  is  a  small  and  somewhat  ancient  fortification. 
This  group  constituted  the  defence  system  on  the 
east.  At  the  head  of  the  bay,  on  an  elevation  a  little 
to  the  south  of  the  city,  stands  El  Castillo  de  Atares, 
begun  in  1763,  immediately  after  the  capture  and 
occupation  of  the  city  by  the  British.  This  is 
supposed  to  proted  the  city  on  the  south,  as  Castillo 
del  Principe  is  supposed  to  defend  it  on  the  west. 
This  stands  on  a  hill  on  the  western  outskirts,  a 
somewhat    extensive    structure,   begun    in    1774    and 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  6i 

completed  about  twenty  years  later.  A  little  further 
to  the  west,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Almendares  river, 
stands  a  little  fort,  or  tower,  called  Chorrera,  serving 
as  a  western  outpost  as  Cojimar  serves  as  an  eastern 
outpost.  Both  were  eredled  about  the  year  1650. 
On  the  shore  generally  north  of  Principe  was  the 
Santa  Clara  battery,  and  between  that  and  La 
Punta,  at  the  foot  of  the  Calzada  de  Belascoain, 
stood  the  Queen's  battery.  From  any  modern 
point  of  view,  the  system  is  little  more  than  military 
junk,  better  fitted  for  its  present  use  as  barracks, 
asylums,  and  prisons  than  for  military  defence.  But 
it  is   all  highly  piduresque. 

In  the  beginning,  most  of  the  buildings  of  the  city 
were  doubtless  of  wood,  with  palm-thatched  roofs. 
In  time,  these  gave  place  to  rows  of  abutting  stone 
buildings  with  tiled  roofs.  Most  of  them  were  of 
one  story,  some  were  of  two  stories,  and  a  few 
"  palaces '*  had  three.  The  city  within  the  wall  is 
today  very  much  as  it  was  a  century  and  more  ago. 
Its  streets  run,  generally  but  not  accurately,  at  right 
angles,  one  set  almost  due  east  and  west,  from  the 
harbor  front  to  the  line  of  the  old  wall,  and  the  other 
set  runs  southward  from  the  shore  of  the  entrance 
channel  to  the  shore  of  the  inner  harbor.  Several 
of  these  streets  are  practically  continuous  from  north 
to  south  or  from  east  to  west.  But  most  of  them 
are  rather  passage-ways  than  streets.  The  houses 
come  to  their  very  edges,  except  for  a  narrow  strip 
hardly   to   be   classed    as    a   sidewalk,    originally   left. 


62  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

presumably,  only  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the 
scraping  of  the  front  of  the  building  by  the  wheels 
of  passing  carts  and  carriages.  It  is  a  somewhat 
inconvenient  system  nowadays,  but  one  gets  quite 
used  to  it  after  a  little,  threads  the  narrow  walk  a 
part  of  his  way,  takes  to  the  street  the  rest  of  the 
way,  and  steps  aside  to  avoid  passing  vehicles  quite 
as  did  the  carriageless  in  the  old  days.  One  excellent 
way  to  avoid  the  trouble  is  to  take  a  carriage  and 
let  the  other  fellow  step  aside.  Riding  in  the  coche 
is  still  one  of  the  cheapest  forms  of  convenience  and 
entertainment  in  the  city,  excepting  the  afternoon 
drive  around  the  Prado  and  the  Malecon.  That  is 
not  cheap.  We  used  to  pay  a  dollar  an  hour.  My 
last  experience  cost  me  three  times  that. 

Much  of  the  old  city  is  now  devoted  to  business 
purposes,  wholesale,  retail,  and  professional.  But 
there  are  also  residences,  old  churches,  and  old 
public  buildings.  On  the  immediate  water-front, 
and  for  many  years  used  as  the  custom  house,  stands 
the  old  Franciscan  convent,  ereded  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  i6th  Century.  It  is  a  somewhat 
imposing  pile,  dominated  by  a  high  tower.  I  have 
not  visited  it  for  a  number  of  years  and  do  not  know 
if  its  interior  is  available  for  visitors  without  some 
special  introducflion,  but  there  is  much  worth  seeing 
inside  its  walls,  the  flying  buttresses  of  the  super- 
stru(5lure,  some  old  and  interesting  frescoes,  and  a 
system  of  dome  construction  that  is  quite  remarkable. 
To  the  latter,  my  attention  was  first  called  by  General 


3   3  J    ^ 
3  3  5  3 


CUSTOM 

Formerly 
Besun 


HOUSE,  HAVANA 

Franciscan  Convent 
574,  finished  1591 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  63 

Ludlow,  a  distinguished  engineer  officer  of  the  United 
States  Army,  then  acting  as  governor  of  the  city. 
To  him  belongs,  although  it  is  very  rarely  given, 
the  credit  for  the  cleansing  of  Havana  during  the 
First  Intervention.  He  frequently  visited  the  old 
convent  just  to  see  and  study  that  interior  dome 
construction.  Immediately  behind  the  Palace  is  the 
old  convent  of  the  Dominicans,  less  imposing  but  of 
about  the  same  period  as  the  Franciscan  structure.  It 
is  now  used  as  a  high-school  building.  The  Cathe- 
dral, a  block  to  the  northward  of  the  Dominican 
convent  building,  is  of  a  much  later  date,  having 
been  begun  as  recently  as  1742.  It  was  originally 
the  convent  of  the  Jesuits,  but  became  the  Cathedral 
in  1789.  Many  have  believed,  on  what  seems  to  be 
acceptable  evidence,  that  here  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  rested  the  bones  of  Christopher 
Columbus.  He  died  in  Valladolid  in  1506,  and  was 
buried  there.  His  remains  were  removed  to  the 
Carthusian  Monastery,  in  Seville,  in  15 13.  From 
there  they  are  said  to  have  been  taken,  in  1536,  to 
the  city  of  Santo  Domingo,  where  they  remained 
until  1796,  when  they  were  brought  to  Havana  and 
placed  in  a  niche  in  the  walls  of  the  old  Cathedral, 
there  to  remain  until  they  were  taken  back  to  Spain 
in  1898.  There  is  still  an  adlive  dispute  as  to  whether 
the  bones  removed  from  Santo  Domingo  to  Havana 
were  or  were  not  those  of  Columbus.  At  all  events, 
the  urn  supposed  to  contain  them  was  in  this  building 
for  a  hundred  years,  below  a  marble  slab  showing  a 


64  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

carving  of  the  voyager  holding  a  globe,  with  a 
finger  pointing  to  the  Caribbean.  Beneath  this  was 
a  legend  that  has  been  thus  translated: 

oh!  rest  thou,  image  of  the  great  colon, 

thousand  centuries  remain,  guarded  in  the  urn, 

and    in   the    remembrance    of    our   nation. 

In  this  neighborhood,  to  the  east  of  the  Plaza  de 
Armas,  on  which  the  Palace  fronts,  is  a  strucflure 
known  as  El  Templete.  It  has  the  appearance  of 
the  portico  of  an  unfinished  building,  but  it  is  a 
finished  memorial,  eredled  in  1828.  The  tradition 
is  that  on  this  spot  there  stood,  in  15 19,  an  old 
ceiba  tree  under  which  the  newly  arrived  settlers 
celebrated  their  first  mass.  The  yellow  Palace,  for 
many  years  the  official  headquarters  and  the  residence 
of  successive  Governors-General,  stands  opposite, 
and  speaks  for  itself.  In  this  building,  somewhat 
devoid  of  architedtural  merit,  much  of  Cuba's  his- 
tory, for  the  last  three-quarters  of  a  century,  has 
been  written.  The  best  time  to  see  all  this  and  much 
more  that  is  to  be  seen,  is  the  early  morning,  before 
the  wheels  begin  to  go  around.  The  lights  and 
shadows  are  then  the  best,  and  the  streets  are  quieter 
and  less  crowded.  The  different  points  of  interest 
are  easily  located  by  the  various  guide  books  ob- 
tainable, and  the  distances  are  not  great.  A  cup 
of  cafe  con  leche  should  precede  the  excursion.  If 
one  feels  lazy,  as  one  is  quite  apt  to  feel  in  the 
tropics   and  the  sub-tropics,   fairly  comfortable  open 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  65 

carnages  are  at  all  times  available.  With  them, 
of  course,  a  greater  area  can  be  covered  and  more 
places  seen,  though  perhaps  seen  less  satisfactorily. 
There  is  much  to  be  seen  in  the  early  morning  that 
is  best  seen  in  those  hours,  and  much  that  is  not 
seen  later  in  the  day.  In  all  cities  there  is  an  early 
morning  life  and  Havana  is  no  exception.  I  confess 
to  only  a  limited  personal  knowledge  of  it,  but  I 
have  seen  enough  of  it,  and  heard  enough  about  it, 
to  know  that  the  waking-up  of  cities,  including 
Havana,  is  an  interesting  process.  I  have,  at  least, 
had  enough  personal  experience  to  be  sure  that  the 
early  morning  air  is  delicious,  the  best  of  the  day. 
I  am  not  speaking  of  the  unholy  hours  preceding 
daybreak,  but  of  six  to  eight  o'clock,  which  for  those 
of  us  who  are  inclined  to  long  evenings  is  also  the 
best  time  to  be  in  bed.  The  early  morning  church 
bells  are  a  disturbance  to  which  visitors  do  not 
readily  adjust  their  morning  naps.  Mr.  Samuel 
Hazard,  who  visited  Cuba  about  the  year  1870,  and 
wrote  quite  entertainingly  about  it,  left  the  following 
description  of  his  experience  in  Havana: 

"Hardly  has  the  day  begun  to  break  when  the 
newly  arrived  traveller  is  startled  from  his  delightful 
morning  doze  by  the  alarming  sound  of  bells  ringing 
from  every  part  of  the  town.  Without  any  particu- 
lar concert  of  acftion,  and  with  very  different  sounds, 
they  ring  out  on  the  still  morning  air,  as  though 
for  a  general  conflagration,  and  the  unfortunate  travel- 
ler rushes  frantically  from  his  bed  to  inquire  if  there 


66  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

is  any  hope  of  safety  from  the  flames  which  he 
imagines,  from  the  noise  made,  must  threaten  the 
whole  town.  Imagine,  O  reader!  in  thy  native 
town,  every  square  with  its  church,  every,  church 
with  its  tower,  or  maybe  two  or  three  of  them,  and 
in  each  particular  tower  a  half-dozen  large  bells,  no 
two  of  which  sound  alike;  place  the  bell-ropes  in 
the  hands  of  some  frantic  man  who  pulls  away,  first 
with  one  hand  and  then  the  other,  and  you  will 
get  a  very  faint  idea  of  your  first  awakening  in 
Havana.  Without  apparent  rhyme  or  reason,  ding, 
dong,  ding  they  go,  every  bell-ringer  at  each  difl^erent 
church  striving  to  see  how  much  noise  he  can  make, 
under  the  plea  of  bringing  the  faithful  to  their 
prayers  at  the  early  morning  mass." 

The  only  conceivable  advantage  of  these  early 
bells  is  the  facft  that  they  turn  out  many  a  traveller 
at  the  hour  when  Havana  is  really  at  its  best.  Yet, 
as  I  read  the  descriptive  tales  left  by  those  who 
wrote  forty,  fifty,  and  sixty  years  ago,  I  am  struck 
by  the  fadl,  that,  after  all,  the  old  Havana  has 
changed  but  little.  There  are  trolley  lines,  eledlric 
lights,  and  a  few  other  so-called  modern  improve- 
ments, but  there  is  still  much  of  the  old  custom,  the 
old  atmosphere.  The  old  wall,  with  its  soldier- 
guarded  gates,  is  gone,  and  there  are  a  few  modern 
buildings,  but  only  a  few,  for  which  facft  I  always 
feel  thankful,  but  the  old  city  is  much  what  it  was 
when  Mr.  Ballou,  and  Mr.  Dana,  and  Mr.  Kimball, 
and  numerous  others  wrote  about  it  soon  after  1850, 


BALCONIES  IN  OLD  H  A  \  A  N  A 
STREET  IN  HAVANA 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  67 

and  when  Mr.  Hazard  wrote  about  it  in  1870.  The 
automobile  is  there  now  in  large  numbers,  in  place 
of  the  old  volante,  and  there  are  asphalted  streets 
in  place  of  cobble-stones.  The  band  plays  in  the 
evening  in  the  Parque  Central  or  at  the  Glorieta, 
instead  of  in  the  Plaza  de  Armas,  but  the  band  plays. 
The  restaurants  are  still  a  prominent  feature  in 
Havana  life,  as  they  were  then.  The  ladies  wear 
hats  instead  of  mantillas,  but  they  buy  hats  on 
Calle  Obispo  just  as  and  where  their  mothers  and 
grandmothers  bought  mantillas.  Bull-fighting  is  gone, 
presumably  forever,  but  crowds  flock  to  the  base- 
ball grounds.  The  midday  suspension  of  business 
continues,  generally,  and  the  afternoon  parade,  on 
foot  and  in  carriages,  remains  one  of  the  important 
functions  of  the  day.  There  are  many  who  know 
Havana,  and  love  it,  who  pray  diligently  that  it  may 
be  many  years  before  the  city  is  Americanized  as, 
for  instance.  New  Orleans  has  been. 

Most  of  the  hfe  of  the  city,  as  it  is  seen  by  most 
visitors,  is  outside  the  old  city,  and  probably  few 
know  that  any  distinction  is  made,  yet  the  line  is 
drawn  with  fair  clearness.  There  is  a  different  ap- 
pearance in  both  streets  and  buildings.  While  there 
are  shops  on  San  Rafael  and  Galiano  and  elsewhere, 
the  principal  shopping  distrid:  is  in  the  old  city,  with 
Calle  Obispo  as  its  centre.  They  have  tried,  officially, 
to  change  the  name  of  the  street,  but  the  old  familiar 
name  sticks  and  seems  likely  to  stick  for  a  long  time 
yet.     Far  be  it  from  a  mere  man  to  attempt  analysis 


68  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

or  description  of  such  a  place.  He  might  tell  an- 
other mere  man  where  to  buy  a  hat,  a  pair  of  shoes, 
or  eyeglasses,  or  a  necktie,  or  where  to  find  a  lawyer, 
but  the  finer  points  of  shopping,  there  or  elsewhere, 
are  not  properly  for  any  masculine  description.  The 
ladies  may  be  trusted  to  learn  for  themselves,  and 
very  quickly,  all  that  they  need  or  want  to  know  about 
that  phase  of  Havana's  commerce.  I  am  leaving 
much  to  the  guide  books  that  can  afford  space  for 
all  necessary  information  about  churches,  statues, 
and  other  objects  of  interest  for  visitors.  Havana's 
retail  merchants  have  their  own  way  of  trading,  much 
as  they  do  in  many  foreign  countries,  and  in  not 
a  few  stores  in  our  own  country.  Prices  are  usually 
a  question  of  the  customer's  abiHty  to  match  the 
commercial  shrewdness  of  the  dealer.  Much  of  the 
trade  of  visitors  is  now  confined  to  the  purchase 
of  such  articles  as  may  be  immediately  needed  and 
to  a  few  souvenirs.  One  of  the  charms  of  the  place 
is  the  cheap  transportation.  If  you  are  tired,  or 
in  a  hurry,  there  is  always  a  coach  near  at  hand  that 
will  take  you  where  you  wish  to  go,  for  a  peseta, 
or  a  quarter,  if  within  certain  officially  prescribed 
bounds.  If  you  desire  to  go  beyond  those  bounds, 
make  a  bargain  with  your  driver  or  be  prepared 
for  trouble.  Down  in  the  old  city  are  to  be  found 
several  restaurants  that  are  well  worth  visiting,  for 
those  who  want  good  food.  I  shall  not  advertise 
the  particular  places,  but  they  are  well  known.  As 
the   early   morning   is   the   best   time   to   see   the   old 


THE  OLD  HAVANA  69 

city,  the  forenoon  is  the  best  time  for  shopping. 
Such  an  expedition  may  well  be  followed  by  the 
almuerzo,  the  midday  breakfast  or  lunch,  whichever 
one  sees  fit  to  call  it,  at  one  of  these  restaurants. 
After  that,  it  is  well  to  enjoy  a  midday  siesta,  in 
preparation  for  the  afternoon  fundlion  on  the  Prado 
and  the  Malecon. 


THE  NEW  HAVANA 


^*^HE  new  Havana,  the  city  outside  the  old 
wall,  is  about  as  old  as  Chicago  but  not 
nearly  as  tall.  There  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  be.  Here  are  wide  streets  and  broad  avenues, 
and  real  sidewalks,  some  of  them  about  as  wide  as 
the  entire  street  in  the  old  city.  About  1830,  the 
region  beyond  the  wall  was  held  largely  by  Spaniards 
to  whom  grants  of  land  had  been  made  for  one  reason 
or  another.  These  tradls  were  plantations,  pastures, 
or  unimproved  lands,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the 
proprietor  who  usually  lived  in  the  city  and  enjoyed 
himself  after  the  manner  of  his  kind.  Here  and  there, 
a  straggling  village  of  palm-leaf  huts  sprang  up. 
The  roads  were  rough  tracks.  To  Governor-General 
Tacon  seems  due  much  of  the  credit  for  the  im- 
provement beyond  the  walls.  During  his  somewhat 
iron-handed  rule  several  notable  buildings  were 
erected,  some  of  them  by  his  authority.  The  most 
notable  feature  of  the  distridl  is  the  renowned  Prado, 
a  broad  boulevard  with  a  park  between  two  drive- 
ways, running  from  the  water-front,  at  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor,  southward  for  about  a  mile.  A  few 
years  ago,  rows  of  trees  shaded  the  central  parkway. 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  71 

but  they  were  almost  entirely  wrecked  by  the  hur- 
ricanes in  1906  and  19 10. 

A  half  mile  or  so  from  its  northern  end,  the  Prado 
runs  along  the  west  side  of  the  Parque  Central,  the 
most  notable  of  the  numerous  little  squares  of  walks 
and  trees  and  flowers.  A  block  or  two  further  on  is 
a  little  park  with  an  excellent  statue,  known  as  La 
India.  Opposite  that  is  another  really  beautiful 
park,  from  the  western  side  of  which  runs  a  broad 
street  that  leads  to  the  Paseo  de  Carlos  Tercero, 
formerly  the  Paseo  de  Tacon,  one  of  the  monuments 
left  to  his  own  memory  by  one  of  Cuba's  most  noted 
Spanish  rulers.  The  Paseo  runs  westward  to  El 
Castillo  del  Principe,  originally  a  fortress  but  now 
a  penitentiary.  The  Prado  stops  just  beyond  the 
companion  parks,  La  India  and  Colon.  These 
originally  formed  the  Campo  de  Marte,  laid  out  by 
General  Tacon  and,  in  his  time,  used  as  a  military 
parade  ground.  In  a  way,  the  Parque  Central  is 
the  centre  of  the  city.  It  is  almost  that,  geograph- 
ically, and  perhaps  quite  that,  socially.  In  its 
immediate  vicinity  are  some  of  the  leading  hotels 
and  the  principal  theatres.  One  of  the  latter,  facing 
the  park  on  its  western  side,  across  the  Prado,  is 
now  known  as  the  Nacional.  Formerly  it  was  the 
Tacon,  a  monument  to  that  notable  man.  There  is 
quite  a  story  about  that  strud:ure.  It  is  somewhat 
too  long  for  inclusion  here,  but  it  seems  worth  telling. 
The  following  is  an  abridgment  of  the  tale  as  it  is 
told   in   Mr.    Ballou's   History   of  Cuba,   published   in 


72  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

1854.  Tacon  was  the  Governor  of  the  island  from 
1834  to  1838.  At  that  time,  a  certain  man  named 
Marti  was  eminent  in  the  smuggHng  and  piracy 
business,  an  industry  in  which  many  others  were 
engaged.  But  Marti  seems  to  have  stood  at  the 
top  of  his  profession,  a  man  of  skill  and  daring  and 
evidently  well  supplied  with  brains.  Tacon's  efforts 
to  capture  him,  or  to  break  up  his  business,  were 
entirely  unsuccessful,  and  a  large  reward  was  offered 
for  his  body,  ahve  or  dead.  Mr.  Ballou  tells  the 
story  in  somewhat  dramatic  manner: 

"It  was  a  dark,  cloudy  night  in  Havana,  a  few 
months  after  the  announcement  of  the  reward,  when 
two  sentinels  were  pacing  backward  and  forward 
before  the  main  entrance  to  the  Governor's  palace. 
A  little  before  midnight,  a  man  was  watching  them 
from  behind  a  statue  in  the  park,  and  after  observing 
that  the  sentinels  paced  their  brief  walk  so  as  to 
meet  each  other,  and  then  turned  their  backs  as  they 
separated,  leaving  a  brief  moment  in  the  interval 
when  the  eyes  of  both  were  turned  away  from  the 
entrance,  seemed  to  calculate  upon  passing  them 
unobserved.  It  was  an  exceedingly  delicate  ma- 
noeuvre, and  required  great  care  and  dexterity  to 
effed:  it;  but,  at  last,  it  was  adroitly  done,  and 
the  stranger  sprang  lightly  through  the  entrance, 
secreting  himself  behind  one  of  the  pillars  of  the 
inner  court.  The  sentinels  paced  on  undisturbed. 
The  figure  which  had  thus  stealthily  efFedled  an 
entrance,  now  sought  the  broad  stairs  that  led  to  the 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  73 

Governor's  suite,  with  a  confidence  that  evinced  a 
perfed:  knowledge  of  the  place.  A  second  guard- 
post  was  to  be  passed  at  the  head  of  the  stairs;  but, 
assuming  an  air  of  authority,  the  stranger  offered  a 
cold  military  salute  and  passed  forward,  as  though 
there  was  not  the  most  distant  question  of  his  right 
to  do  so;  and  thus  avoiding  all  suspicion  in  the 
guard's  mind,  he  boldly  entered  the  Governor's 
reception  room  unchallenged,  and  closed  the  door 
behind    him." 

In  his  office,  alone,  the  stranger  found  Tacon,  who 
was  naturally  surprised  at  the  appearance  of  an 
unannounced  caller.  He  demanded  to  know  who 
the  visitor  was,  but  a  direcfl  answer  was  evaded. 
After  referring  to  the  matter  of  the  reward  offered 
for  the  discovery  of  Marti,  and  the  pledge  of  im- 
munity to  the  discoverer,  the  caller  demanded  and 
obtained  a  verbal  endorsement  of  the  promise  of 
immunity,  under  the  Governor's  word  of  honor, 
whatever  might  be  the  circumstances  of  his  revela- 
tion. He  then  announced  himself  as  the  much-sought 
pirate  and  smuggler,  Marti.  Tacon  was  somewhat 
astounded,  but  he  kept  his  word.  Marti  was  held 
overnight,  but  *'on  the  following  day,"  the  Ballou 
account  proceeds,  "one  of  the  men-of-war  that  lay 
idly  beneath  the  guns  of  Morro  Castle  suddenly 
became  the  scene  of  the  utmost  activity,  and,  before 
noon,  had  weighed  her  anchor,  and  was  standing  out 
into  the  gulf  stream.  Marti  the  smuggler  was  on 
board  as  her  pilot;    and  faithfully  did  he  guide  the 


74  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ship  on  the  discharge  of  his  treacherous  business, 
reveahng  every  haunt  of  the  rovers,  exposing  their 
most  valuable  depots;  and  many  a  smuggling  craft 
was  taken  and  destroyed.  The  amount  of  money  and 
property  thus  secured  was  very  great.''  The  con- 
temptible job  of  betraying  his  former  companions 
and  followers  being  successfully  accomplished,  Marti 
returned  with  the  ships,  and  claimed  his  reward  from 
Tacon.  The  General,  according  to  his  word  of  honor, 
gave  Marti  a  full  and  unconditional  pardon  for  all 
his  past  offences,  and  an  order  on  the  treasury  for 
the  amount  of  the  reward  offered.  The  latter  was 
declined  but,  in  lieu  of  the  sum,  Marti  asked  for  and 
obtained  a  monopoly  of  the  right  to  sell  fish  in 
Havana.  He  offered  to  build,  at  his  own  expense, 
a  public  market  of  stone,  that  should,  after  a  speci- 
fied term  of  years,  revert  to  the  government,  "with 
all  right  and  the  title  to  the  fishery."  This  struck 
Tacon  as  a  good  business  proposition;  he  saved  to 
his  treasury  the  important  sum  of  the  reward  and, 
after  a  time,  the  city  would  own  a  valuable  fish- 
market.  He  agreed  to  the  plan.  Marti  thereupon 
went  into  the  fish  business,  made  huge  profits,  and 
became,  so  the  story  goes,  the  richest  man  in  the 
island.  After  a  time,  being  burdened  with  wealth, 
he  looked  about  for  means  of  increasing  his  income. 
So  he  asked  for  and  obtained  a  monopoly  of  the 
theatre  business  in  Havana,  promising  to  build  one  of 
the  largest  and  finest  theatres  in  the  world.  The 
result    of   the    enterprise    was    the    present    Nacional 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  75 

theatre,  for  many  years  regarded  as  second  only  to 
the  Grand  theatre  in  Milan.  But  it  was  named 
the  Tacon.  Its  special  attrac1:ion  was  internal;  its 
exterior  was  far  from  imposing.  It  has  recently 
been  considerably  glorified.  Having  thus  halted 
for  the  story  of  the  theatre,  we  may  return  to  the 
Prado  on  which  it  fronts.  Here,  Havana  society 
used  to  gather  every  afternoon  to  drive,  walk,  and 
talk.  The  afternoon  paseo  was  and  still  is  the  great 
event  of  the  day,  the  great  social  fundlion  of  the 
city.  At  the  time  of  my  first  visit,  in  1899,  there 
was  no  Malecon  drive  along  the  shore  to  the  west- 
ward. That  enterprise  was  begun  during  the  First 
Intervention,  and  continued  by  succeeding  adminis- 
trations. In  the  earlier  days,  the  route  for  driving 
was  down  the  east  side  of  the  Prado,  between  the 
Parque  Central  and  the  Carcel,  and  up  the  west 
side,  around  and  around,  up  and  down,  with  bows 
and  smiles  to  acquaintances  met  or  passed,  and, 
probably,  gossip  about  the  strangers.  Many  horse- 
men appeared  in  the  procession,  and  the  central 
promenade  was  thronged  with  those  who  walked, 
either  because  they  preferred  to  or  because  they 
could  not  afford  to  ride  around  and  around.  In 
the  Parque  Central  were  other  walkers,  chatting 
groups,  and  lookers-on.  Some  days  the  band  played. 
Then  the  Prado  was  extended  to  the  water-front; 
the  glorieta  was  erected;  and  that  became  another 
centre  for  chatterers  and  watchers.  The  building  of 
the   Malecon   extended    the   range   of  the   driveway. 


76  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

This  afternoon  fundlion  is  an  old  established  institu- 
tion and  a  good  one.  It  may  not  compare  favorably 
with  the  drive  in  some  of  our  parks  in  this  country, 
but  it  is  the  best  substitute  possible  in  Havana. 
Indulgence  in  ices,  cooling  drinks,  chocolate,  or  other 
refections,  during  this  daily  ceremony,  is  fairly  common 
but  by  no  means  a  general  practice.  The  afternoon 
tea  habit  has  not  yet  seized  upon  Havana.  The  ices 
are  almost  invariably  excellent.  Some  of  them  are 
prepared  from  native  fruit  flavors  that  are  quite 
unknown  here.  The  guanahana  ice  is  particularly 
to  be  recommended.  All  such  matters  are  quite 
individual,  but  a  deco6lion  called  chocolate  Espaiiol 
is  also  to  be  recommended.  It  is  served  hot,  too 
thick  to  drink,  and  is  to  be  taken  with  a  spoon,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  cake.  It  is  highly  nourishing 
as  well  as  palatable.  There  is  a  wide  variety  of 
'*soft  drinks,"  made  with  oranges,  limes,  or  other 
fruits,  and  the  orchata,  made  from  almonds,  and  the 
producfls  of  American  soda  fountains,  but  there  is 
little  use  of  the  high-ball  or  the  cocktail  except 
by  Americans. 

The  Cubans  are  an  exceedingly  temperate  people. 
Wine  is  used  by  all  classes,  and  aguadiente,  the  native 
rum,  is  consumed  in  considerable  quantity,  but  the 
Cuban  rarely  drinks  to  excess.  I  recall  an  experience 
during  the  earlier  years.  I  was  asked  to  write  a 
series  of  articles  on  the  use  of  intoxicants  in  the 
island,  for  a  temperance  publication  in  this  country. 
My  first  article  so  offended  the  publishers  that  they 


u    ? 
o 

Q 

H 
W 
W 

C/3 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  tj 

declined  to  print  it,  and  cancelled  the  order  for 
the  rest  of  the  series.  It  was  perhaps  somewhat 
improper,  but  in  that  article  I  summed  up  the  situa- 
tion by  stating  that  "the  temperance  question  in 
Cuba  is  only  a  question  of  how  soon  we  succeed  in 
converting  them  into  a  nation  of  drunkards."  Beer  is 
used,  both  imported  and  of  local  manufadlure.  Gin, 
brandy,  and  anisette,  cordials  and  liqueurs  are  all  used 
to  some  but  moderate  extent,  but  intoxication  is 
quite  rare.  One  fluid  extradl  I  particularly  recom- 
mend, that  is  the  milk  of  the  cocoanut,  the  green 
nut.  Much,  however,  depends  upon  the  cocoanut. 
Properly  ripened,  the  "milk"  is  delicious,  cooling 
and  wholesome,  more  so  perhaps  on  a  country  journey 
than  in  the  city.  The  nut  not  fully  ripened  gives 
the  milk,  or  what  is  locally  called  the  "water," 
an  unpleasant,  woody  taste.  I  have  experimented 
with  it  in  diff'erent  parts  of  the  world,  in  the  Philip- 
pines, Ceylon,  and  elsewhere,  and  have  found  it 
wholesome  and  refreshing  in  all  places. 

The  houses  in  the  new  Havana  are,  on  the  whole, 
vastly  more  cheerful  than  are  the  dwellings  in  the  old 
city.  They  are  of  the  same  general  architedlural 
type,  but  because  of  the  wider  streets,  more  air  and 
sunshine  gets  into  them.  Some  of  the  best  and  most 
costly  are  along  the  Prado.  A  Cuban  house  interior 
generally  impresses  an  American  as  lacking  in  home- 
like quality.  Some  of  the  best  are  richly  adorned, 
but  there  is  a  certain  bareness  and  an  absence  of 
color.     As  is  usual  with  customs  unlike  our  own,  and 


78  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

which  we  are  therefore  prone  to  regard  as  inferior 
to  ours,  there  are  excellent  reasons  for  Cuban  interior 
decoration,  or  rather  the  lack  of  it.  A  little  experi- 
ence, or  even  a  little  refledlion,  shows  clearly  the 
impossibility  of  anything  resembling  American  house 
decoration  in  such  a  climate  as  that  of  Cuba.  Our 
warm  colors,  hangings,  upholstered  furniture,  rugs, 
and  much  else  that  we  regard  as  essential  in  northern 
latitudes,  would  be  utterly  unendurable  in  Cuba. 
There,  the  marble  or  tiled  floors,  the  cool  tones  of 
wall  and  ceiling,  and  the  furniture  of  wood  and 
cane,  are  not  only  altogether  fitting  but  as  well 
altogether  necessary.  Our  glass  windows  would  only 
serve  to  increase  heat  and  shut  out  air.  As  some 
barrier  is  necessary  to  keep  passers,  even  Americans, 
from  intrusive  entrance  by  the  windows  whose 
bottoms  are  at  floor  level,  the  system  of  iron  bars 
or  elaborate  grille  work  is  adopted.  Few  Americans 
see  much,  if  anything,  of  Cuban  home  life  except  as 
they  see  it  through  these  barriers  as  they  pass.  It 
is  not  the  custom  of  the  country  to  invite  promiscuous 
or  casual  acquaintances  to  call.  It  is  even  less  the 
custom  there  than  it  is  with  us.  A  book  about 
Cuba,  published  a  few  years  ago,  gives  a  somewhat 
extended  account  of  what  is  called  "home  life,''  but 
it  is  the  home  life  of  workmen  and  people  who  do 
laundry  work  to  eke  out  a  meagre  living.  It  is  not 
even  the  life  of  fairly  paid  artisans,  or  of  people  of 
modest  but  comfortable  income.  It  is  no  more  a 
proper  description  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  island 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  79 

than  would  be  a  presentation  of  the  hfe  in  the  palaces 
of  the  wealthy.  Such  attempts  at  description  are 
almost  invariably  a  mistake,  conveying,  whether 
from  purpose  or  from  indifference  to  truth,  a  false 
impression.  Domestic  economy  and  household  man- 
agement vary  in  Cuba  as  they  vary  in  the  United 
States,  in  France,  England,  Japan,  or  Mexico.  The 
seledlion  of  an  individual  home,  or  of  several,  as  a 
basis  for  description,  in  Cuba  or  anywhere  else,  can 
only  result  in  a  pidlure  badly  out  of  drawing  and  quite 
misleading. 

There  are  Cuban  homes,  as  there  are  American 
homes,  that  are  slatternly  and  badly  managed,  and 
there  are  Cuban  homes  that  are  as  spick  and  span 
and  as  orderly  in  their  administration  as  any  home 
in  this  country.  Their  customs,  as  are  ours,  are  the 
result  of  environment  and  tradition.  To  some  of 
us,  a  rectangle  of  six  or  eight  rocking-chairs,  placed 
in  the  centre  of  a  room,  in  which  family  and  visitors 
sit  and  rock  while  they  talk,  may  seem  curious,  but 
it  is  a  custom  that  we  may  not  criticize  either  with 
fairness  or  common  decency.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  not  uncommon  custom  of  using  a  part  of 
the  street  floor  of  the  house  as  a  stable.  It  is  an 
old  custom,  brought  from  Spain.  But  I  have  wan- 
dered from  description  to  incident.  I  have  no  in- 
tention to  attempt  a  description  of  Cuban  home  life, 
beyond  saying  that  I  have  been  a  guest  in  costly 
homes  in  the  city  and  in  the  little  palm-leaf  "shacks" 
of  peasants,  and  have  invariably  found  in  both,  and 


8o  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

in  the  homes  of  intermediate  classes,  only  cordial 
hospitality  and  gracious  courtesy.  Those  who  have 
found  anything  different  have  carried  it  with  them  in 
their  own  attitude  toward  their  hosts.  Many  of  us, 
probably  most  of  us,  in  the  United  States,  make  a 
sort  of  fetich  of  the  privacy  of  what  we  call  our  home 
life.  We  are  encased  in  walls  of  wood  or  masonry, 
with  blinds,  curtains,  or  shades  at  our  windows.  It 
might  be  supposed  that  we  wanted  to  hide,  that 
there  was  something  of  which  to  be  ashamed.  It 
might  at  least  be  so  interpreted  by  one  unfamiliar 
with  our  ways.  It  is  only,  like  the  open  domestic 
life  in  Cuba,  a  custom,  a  habit  of  long  standing. 
Certainly,  much  of  the  domestic  Hfe  of  Cuba  is  open. 
The  mistress  of  the  house  chides  a  servant,  rebukes 
or  comforts  a  child,  sits  with  her  embroidery,  chaffers 
with  an  itinerant  merchant  or  with  the  clerk  from 
a  store,  all  in  plain  sight  and  hearing  of  the  passer-by. 
What  everyone  does,  no  one  notices.  The  customs 
of  any  country  are  curious  only  to  those  from  other 
countries  where  customs  are  different.  Our  ways  of 
life  are  quite  as  curious  to  others  as  are  their  ways 
to  us.  We  are  quite  blind  to  that  fad;  chiefly  because 
of  an  absurd  conviction  of  the  immense  superiority  of 
our  ways.  We  do  not  stop  to  consider  reasons  for 
differences.  A  cup  of  coffee  on  an  American  break- 
fast table  usually  consists  of  about  four  parts  coffee 
and  one  part  milk  or  cream.  Most  Cubans  usually 
reverse  these  percentages.  There  is  a  good  reason 
for   it.     In   our   climate,   we   do   not   need   the   large 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  8i 

open  doors  and  windows,  the  high  ceihngs,  and  the 
full  and  free  ventilation  that  make  life  endurable 
in  tropical  and  sub-tropical  countries.  Their  system 
here  would  be  as  impossible  as  would  be  our  system 
there.  Houses  in  Cuba  like  those  of  an  American 
city  or  town  would  make  life  a  miserable  burden. 
The  publicity,  or  semi-publicity,  of  Cuban  home  life 
is  a  necessary  result  of  conditions.  It  is,  naturally, 
more  in  evidence  in  the  city  proper,  where  the  houses, 
abutting  immediately  on  the  street,  as  do  most  of 
our  city  houses,  are  built,  as  ours  are,  in  solid  rows. 
We  avoid  a  good  deal  of  publicity  by  piling  our 
homes  on  top  of  each  other,  and  by  elevators  and 
stair-climbing. 

The  location  of  a  residence  in  Havana  gives  no 
special  idea  of  the  wealth  or  the  social  standing  of 
those  who  occupy  it.  Not  a  few  well-to-do  people 
still  live  in  the  old  city,  where  the  streets  are  narrow 
and  where  business  is  trying  to  crowd  out  everything 
except  itself.  The  home  in  that  quarter  may  be  in 
a  block  in  w^hich  a  number  of  buildings  are  residences, 
or  it  may  stand  with  a  warehouse  on  one  side  and 
a  workshop  on  the  other.  A  few  people  of  unques- 
tionable social  position  still  live  in  buildings  in  which 
the  street  floor  is  a  store  or  an  office.  There  is  noth- 
ing curious  about  this.  In  many  American  cities, 
old  families  have  clung  to  old  homes,  and  not  a 
few  new  families  have,  from  one  reason  or  another, 
occupied  similar  quarters.  Such  a  residence  may 
not   conform  to   modern   social   ideas   and   standards. 


82  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

but  there  are  Americans  in  this  country,  as  well  as 
Cubans  and  Spaniards  in  Havana,  who  can  afford  to 
ignore  those  standards.  The  same  is  true  of  many 
who  live  in  the  newer  city,  outside  the  old  walls. 
There  as  here,  business  encroaches  on  many  streets 
formerly  stridlly  residential.  This  holds  in  the  newer 
part  of  the  city  as  well  as  in  the  old  part.  A  number 
of  streets  there  are,  for  a  part  of  their  length,  quite 
given  over  to  business.  Even  the  Prado  itself  is 
the  victim  of  commercial  invasion.  What  was  once  one 
of  the  finest  residences  in  the  city,  the  old  Aldama 
place  fronting  on  the  Campo  de  Marte,  is  now  a 
cigar  factory.  A  little  beyond  it  is  the  Tacon  mar- 
ket, occupying  an  entire  block.  Stores  and  shops 
surround  it.  The  old  avenue  leading  to  the  once 
fashionable  Cerro,  and  to  the  only  less  fashionable 
Jesus  del  Monte,  is  now  a  business  street.  Another 
business  street  leads  out  of  the  Parque  Central, 
alongside  the  former  Tacon  theatre.  The  broad 
Calzada  de  Galiano,  once  a  fashionable  residence 
street,  is  now  largely  commercial.  While  less  pictur- 
esque than  some  parts  of  the  old  city  within  the  walls, 
the  most  attractive  part  of  Havana  is  undoubtedly 
the  sec5lion  of  El  Vedado,  the  westward  extension 
along  the  shore.  Here  are  broad  streets,  trees, 
gardens,  and  many  beautiful  and  costly  dwellings. 
This  is  really  the  modern  Havana.  A  part  of  it 
is  only  a  little  above  sea-level,  and  behind  that 
strip  is  a  hill.  A  few  years  ago,  only  a  small  num- 
ber   of   houses   were   on   the   hillside    or    the   hilltop. 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  83 

Now,  it  is  well  built  over  with  modern  houses. 
The  architedural  type  is  generally  retained,  and  it 
is  rather  a  pity  that  there  should  be  even  what 
variation  there  is.  El  Vedado  is  the  region  of  the 
wealthy  and  the  well-to-do,  with  a  large  percentage 
of  foreigners.  It  has  its  social  ways,  very  much  as 
other  places  have,  in  this  country,  in  France,  Hong 
Kong,  or  Honolulu.  They  are  not  quite  our  ways, 
but  they  are  a  result  of  conditions,  just  as  ours 
are. 

On  the  hill,  a  little  back  of  El  Vedado,  are  two 
** points  of  interest"  for  visitors;  the  old  fortress, 
el  Castillo  del  Principe,  and  the  cemetery.  In  the 
latter  are  some  notable  monuments.  One  is  known 
as  the  Firemen's  Monument.  For  many  years, 
Havana  has  had,  supplementary  to  its  municipal 
organization,  a  volunteer  firemen's  corps.  In  various 
ways  the  latter  resembles  a  number  of  military 
organizations  in  the  United  States.  It  is  at  once  a 
somewhat  exclusive  social  club  and  a  practical  force. 
Membership  is  a  social  distindlion.  If  you  are  in 
Havana  and  see  men  in  admirably  tailored  uniforms 
and  fire  helmets,  rushing  in  a  particular  direcflion 
in  cabs,  carriages  or  automobiles,  you  may  know 
that  they  are  members  of  the  Bomheros  del  Comercio 
on  their  way  to  a  conflagration.  Most  excellent  real 
work  they  have  done  again  and  again  in  time  of 
fire  and  flood.  On  parade,  they  look  exceedingly 
dapper  with  their  helmets,  uniforms,  boots  and 
equipment,  somewhat  too  dandified  even  to  suggest 


84  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

any  smoke  other  than  that  of  cigars  or  cigarettes. 
But  they  are  the  "real  thing  in  smoke-eaters"  when 
they  get  to  work.  They  have  a  long  list  of  heroic 
deeds  on  their  records.  The  monument  in  Colon 
Cemetery  commemorates  one  of  those  deeds.  In  an 
extensive  and  dangerous  fire,  in  May,  1890,  thirty  of 
these  men  lost  their  lives.  A  few  years  later,  this 
beautiful  and  costly  shaft  was  eredled,  by  private 
subscription,  as  a  tribute  to  their  valor  and  devo- 
tion. Another  shaft,  perhaps  no  less  notable,  com- 
memorates a  deplorable  and  unpardonable  event. 
A  number  of  medical  students,  mere  boys,  in  the 
University  of  Havana,  were  charged  with  defa- 
cing the  tomb  of  a  Spanish  officer  who  had  been 
killed  by  a  Cuban  in  a  political  quarrel.  At  its 
worst,  it  was  a  boyish  prank,  demanding  rebuke  or 
even  some  mild  punishment.  Later  evidence  in- 
dicates that  while  there  was  a  demonstration  there 
was  no  defacement  of  the  vault.  Forty-two  students 
were  arrested  as  participants,  tried  by  court-martial, 
and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  Eight  of  them  were  shot 
at  La  Punta,  at  the  foot  of  the  Prado  near  the  sea- 
front,  and  the  remainder  sentenced  to  imprisonment 
for  life.  All  of  these,  I  believe,  were  afterward 
released.  The  Students'  Monument  expresses  the 
feeling  of  the  Cubans  in  the  matter,  a  noble  memorial. 
There  are  numerous  other  shafts  and  memorials  that 
are  notable  and  interesting.  A  number  of  Cuba's 
leaders,  Maximo  Gomez,  Calixto  Garcia,  and  others, 
are  buried  in  this  cemetery. 


THE  NEW  HAVANA  85 

Further  on,  to  the  southeast,  are  other  sedlions 
of  the  new  Havana,  the  distridls  of  Cerro  and  Jesus 
del  Monte.  El  Vedado  has  largely  supplanted  these 
neighborhoods  as  the  ** court  end"  of  the  city.  Many 
of  the  fine  old  residences  of  forty  or  fifty  years  ago 
still  remain,  but  most  of  them  are  now  closely  sur- 
rounded by  the  more  modest  homes  of  a  less  aristo- 
cratic group.  A  few  gardens  remain  to  suggest  what 
they  were  in  the  earlier  days.  Still  further  out,  in 
the  west-and-south  quarter-circle,  are  little  towns, 
villages,  and  hamlets,  typically  Cuban,  with  here 
and  there  the  more  imposing  estate  of  planter  or 
proprietor.  But,  far  the  greater  number  of  visitors, 
perhaps  with  greater  reason,  find  more  of  charm  and 
interest  in  the  city  itself  than  in  the  suburbs  or  the 
surrounding  country.  The  enjoyment  of  unfamiliar 
places  is  altogether  personal.  There  are  many  who 
really  see  nothing;  they  come  away  from  a  brief 
visit  with  only  a  confusion  of  vague  recollecftions  of 
sights  and  sounds,  of  brief  inspection  of  buildings 
about  which  they  knew  nothing,  of  the  big,  yellow 
Palace,  of  this  church  and  that,  of  the  Morro  and 
the  harbor,  of  sunny  days,  and  of  late  afternoons 
along  the  Prado  and  the  Malecon.  To  me,  Havana 
is  losing  its  greatest  charm  through  an  excess  of 
Americanization,  slowly  but  steadily  taking  from  the 
place  much  of  the  individuality  that  made  it  most 
attractive.  It  will  be  a  long  time  before  that  is 
entirely  lost,  but  five-story  ofl&ce  buildings,  auto- 
mobiles in  the  afternoon  parade,  steaks  or  ham  and 


86  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

eggs  at  an  eight  or  nine  o'clock  breakfast,  and  all 
kinds  of  indescribable  hats  in  place  of  dainty  and 
graceful  mantillas,  seem  to  me  a  detraction,  like 
bay-windows  and  porticos  added  to  an  old  colonial 
mansion. 


VI 

AROUND  THE  ISLAND 

HUNDRED  years  ago,  the  Cubans  travelled 
from  place  to  place  about  the  island,  just  as 
our  ancestors  did  in  this  country,  by  water 
and  over  rough  trails  few  of  which  could,  with 
any  approach  to  corredlness,  be  described  as  roads. 
It  was  not  until  about  a  hundred  years  ago  that  we, 
in  this  country,  began  to  build  anything  even  re- 
motely resembling  a  modern  highway.  Our  towns 
and  cities  were  on  the  seaboard  or  on  the  banks  of 
rivers  navigable  for  vessels  of  size  sufficient  for  their 
purposes.  Commodities  carried  to  or  brought  from 
places  not  so  located  were  dragged  in  stoutly  built 
wagons  over  routes  the  best  of  which  was  worse 
than  the  worst  to  be  found  anywhere  today.  Because 
real  road-making  in  Cuba  is  quite  a  modern  institu- 
tion, an  enterprise  to  which,  in  their  phrase,  the 
Spanish  Government  did  not  ** dedicate"  itself,  the 
Cuban  wagons  and  carts  of  today  are  chiefly  those 
of  the  older  time.  They  are  heavy,  cumbrous  affairs 
with  large  wheels,  a  diameter  necessitated  by  the 
deep  ruts  through  which  a  passage  was  made.  A 
smaller  wheel  would  soon  have  been  "hub-deep" 
and    hopelessly    stuck.     So,    too,    with    the    carriages 


88  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

of  the  nabobs.  The  poorer  people,  when  they 
travelled  at  all,  went  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  as 
our  ancestors  did.  The  nabobs  had  their  volantes, 
still  occasionally,  but  with  increasing  rarity,  seen  in 
some  parts  of  the  island.  Forty  years  ago,  such 
vehicles,  only  a  little  changed  from  the  original 
type,  were  common  enough  in  Havana  itself.  About 
that  time,  or  a  few  years  earlier,  the  four-wheeler 
began  to  supplant  them  for  city  use. 

There  is  a  technical  difference  between  the  original 
type  of  volante  and  its  successor  which,  though  still 
called  a  volante  was  properly  called  a  quitrin.  The 
only  real  difference  was  that  the  top  of  the  quitrin 
was  collapsible,  and  could  be  lowered  when  desirable, 
while  the  top  of  the  volante  was  not.  I  have  ridden 
in  these  affairs,  I  cannot  say  comfortably,  over  roads 
that  would  have  been  quite  impossible  for  any  other 
wheeled  vehicle.  At  the  back,  and  somewhat  behind 
the  body  were  two  wheels,  six  feet  in  diameter. 
From  the  axle,  two  shafts  projected  for  a  distance, 
if  memory  serves  me,  of  some  twelve  or  fifteen  feet. 
A  little  forward  of  the  axle,  the  body,  not  unlike 
the  old-fashioned  American  chaise,  was  suspended 
on  stout  leather  straps  serving  as  springs.  Away  off 
in  front,  at  the  end  of  the  shafts,  was  a  horse  on 
which  the  driver  rode  in  a  heavy  and  clumsy  saddle. 
For  long-distance  travel,  or  for  particularly  rough 
roads,  a  second  horse  was  added,  alongside  the  shaft 
horse,  and  sometimes  a  third  animal.  The  motion 
was    pleasant    enough    over    the    occasional    smooth 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  89 

places,  but  the  usual  motion  was  much  like  that  of 
a  cork  in  a  whirlpool,  or  of  a  small  boat  in  a  choppy- 
sea.  Little  attention  was  paid  to  rocks  or  ruts;  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  capsize  the  thing.  One 
wheel  might  be  two  feet  or  more  higher  than  the 
other,  whereupon  the  rider  on  the  upper  side  would 
be  piled  on  top  of  the  rider  or  riders  on  the  lower 
side,  but  there  was  always  a  fair  distribution  of  this 
favor.  The  rocks  and  ruts  were  not  always  on  the 
same  side  of  the  road.  The  safety  from  overturn 
was  in  the  long  shafts  which  allowed  free  play.  In 
the  older  days,  say  sixty  or  seventy  years  ago,  the 
volante  or  the  quitrin  was  an  outward  and  visible 
sign  of  a  well-lined  pocket-book.  It  indicated  the 
possessor  as  a  man  of  wealth,  probably  a  rich  planter 
who  needed  such  a  vehicle  to  carry  him  and  his  family 
from  their  mansion  in  the  city  to  their  perhaps  quite 
as  costly  home  on  the  plantation.  The  calisero,  or 
driver,  was  dressed  in  a  costume  truly  gorgeous,  the 
horses  were  of  the  best,  and  the  vehicle  itself  may 
have  cost  two  thousand  dollars  or  more.  The  opera- 
tion of  such  a  contrivance,  extending,  from  the  rear 
of  the  wheels  to  the  horse's  nose,  for  twenty  feet  or 
more,  in  the  narrow  streets  of  the  old  city,  was  a 
scientific  problem,   particularly  in  turning  corners. 

Cuba  was  early  in  the  field  with  a  railway.  In 
1830,  the  United  States  had  only  thirty-two  miles  of 
line,  the  beginning  of  its  present  enormous  system. 
Cuba's  first  railway  was  opened  to  traffic  in  Novem- 
ber,   1837.     It  was   a  forty-five  mile  line  connecting 


90  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Havana  with  the  town   of  Guines,  southeast   of  the 
city.     While  official  permission  was,  of  course,  neces- 
sary before  the  work  could  be  undertaken,  it  was  in 
fadl  a  Cuban  enterprise,  due  to  the  adlivity  of  the 
Junta  de  Fomento,  or  Society  for  Improvement.     It 
was  built  with  capital  obtained  in  London,  the  con- 
strudlion  being  in  charge  of  Mr.  Alfred  Cruger,   an 
American  engineer.     Ten  years  later  there  were  nearly 
three   hundred    miles    of  line.     At   the    beginning   of 
the  American  occupation,  in  1899,  there  were  about 
nine-hundred   and   fifty  miles.     There  are  now  more 
than  2,000  miles  of  public  service  line  in  operation, 
and   in   addition  there   are  many  hundreds   of  miles 
of  private  lines  on  the  sugar  estates.     Several  cities 
have  trolley  lines.     For  some  years  after  the  Ameri- 
can occupation,  as  before  that  experience,  there  was 
only    a    water-and-rail    connexion,    or    an    all-water 
route,   between  the  eastern   and  western  secftions   of 
the  island.     The  usual  route  from  Havana  to  Santiago 
was  by  rail  to  Batabano  or  to  Cienfuegos,  and  thence 
by  steamer.     The  alternative  was  an  all-water  route, 
consuming  several  days,  by  steamer  along  the  north 
coast,  with  halts  at  different  ports,  and  around  the 
eastern  end  of  the  island  to  the  destination.     It  is 
now  an  all-rail  run  of  twenty-four  hours.     The  projed: 
for  a  "spinal  railway"  from  one  end  of  the  island  to 
the   other   had    been    under   consideration    for   many 
years.     The    configuration    lent    itself   excellently    to 
such  a  system,  and  not  at  all  well  to  any  other.     A 
railway  map  of  such  a  system  shows  a  line,  generally. 


I 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  91 

through  the  middle  of  the  island  along  its  length, 
with  numerous  branch  lines  running  north  and  south 
to  the  various  cities  and  ports  on  the  coast.  The 
plan,  broadly,  is  being  carried  out.  A  combination 
of  existing  lines  afforded  a  route  to  the  city  of  Santa 
Clara.  From  these  eastward,  the  Cuba  Company, 
commonly  known  as  the  Van  Home  road,  completed 
a  through  line  in  1902.  In  its  beginning,  it  was  a 
highly  ambitious  scheme,  involving  the  building  of 
many  towns  along  the  way,  the  ere(5lion  of  many 
sugar  mills,  and  the  creation  of  a  commercial  city, 
at  Nipe  Bay,  that  would  leave  Havana  in  the  back- 
number  class.  All  that  called  for  a  sum  of  money  not 
then  and  not  now  available.  But  the  "spinal  rail- 
road" was  built,  and  from  it  a  number  of  radiating 
lines  have  been  built,  to  Sandli  Spiritus,  Manzanillo, 
Nipe  Bay,  and  to  Guantanamo.  About  the  only 
places  on  the  island,  really  worth  seeing,  with  the 
exception  of  Trinidad  and  Baracoa,  can  now  be 
reached  by  a  fairly  comfortable  railway  journey. 

In  most  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  island,  a  half 
dozen  or  so  of  them,  the  traveller  is  made  fairly 
comfortable  and  is  almost  invariably  well  fed.  But 
any  question  of  physical  comfort  in  hotels,  more 
particularly  in  country  hotels,  raises  a  question  of 
standards.  As  Touchstone  remarked,  when  in  the 
forest  of  Arden,  "Travellers  must  be  content."  Those 
who  are  not  ready  to  make  themselves  so,  no  matter 
what  the  surroundings,  should  stay  at  home,  which. 
Touchstone  also    remarked,  "is    a   better   place."     If 


92  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

the  standard  is  the  ostentatious  strudlure  of  the  larger 
cities  of  this  country,  with  its  elaborate  menu  and 
its  systematized  service,  there  will  doubtless  be  cause 
for  complaint.  So  will  there  be  if  the  standard  is 
the  quiet,  cleanly  inn  of  many  towns  in  this  country 
and  in  parts  of  Europe.  The  larger  towns  and  vil- 
lages of  the  island  have  a  posada  in  which  food  and 
lodging  may  be  obtained;  the  smaller  places  may  or 
may  not  have  "a  place  to  stay."  Cuba  is  not  a  land 
in  which  commercial  travellers  swarm  everywhere, 
demanding  comfort  and  willing  to  pay  a  reasonable 
price  for  it.  However,  few  travellers  and  fewer 
tourists  have  any  inclination  to  depart  from  known 
and  beaten  paths,  or  any  reason  for  doing  so.  Nor 
does  a  fairly  thorough  inspection  of  the  island  neces- 
sitate any  halting  in  out-of-the-way  places  where  there 
is  not  even  an  imitation  of  an  inn.  All  that  one 
needs  to  see,  and  all  that  most  care  to  see,  can  be 
seen  in  little  tours,  for  a  day,  from  the  larger  cities. 
Yet  if  one  wants  to  wander  a  httle  in  the  by-paths, 
it  is  easy  enough  to  do  so. 

What  one  sees  or  does  in  Cuba  will  depend  mainly 
upon  the  purpose  of  the  visit,  and  upon  the  violence 
of  the  individual  mania  for  seeing  as  many  places  as 
possible.  If  the  objed:  is  merely  an  excursion  or  an 
escape  from  the  rigors  of  a  northern  winter,  there 
is  no  occasion  for  wandering  out  of  sight  of  the 
capital  city.  There  is  more  to  see  and  more  to  do 
in  Havana  than  there  is  in  all  the  rest  of  the  island. 
Nor  is  there  much  to  be  seen  elsewhere  that  cannot 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  93 

be  seen  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  that  city.  This, 
of  course,  does  not  cover  the  matter  of  scenery.  There 
are  no  mountains,  no  forest  jungles  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, but  forests  in  Cuba  are  not  particularly  inter- 
esting, and  even  the  mountains  of  Oriente  are  no 
more  beautiful  or  majestic  than  are  our  own  summits, 
our  own  White  Hills  of  New  Hampshire,  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  Alleghenies,  the  Rockies, 
and  the  Sierras.  The  charm  of  Cuba,  and  it  is 
extremely  charming,  is  not  its  special  "points  of 
interest."  It  is  rather  a  general  impression,  a  com- 
bination of  soft  and  genial  climate  with  varying  lights 
and  shades  and  colors.  Even  after  much  experience 
there,  I  am  not  yet  quite  ready  either  to  admit  or 
to  deny  that  the  island,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  either 
beautiful  or  pidluresque,  and  yet  there  is  much  of 
both.  Attention  is  rarely  challenged  by  the  sublime 
or  the  majestic,  but  is  often  arrested  by  some  play 
of  light  and  shade.  Cuban  villages,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  unattradlive,  although  there  is  not 
infrequently  some  particular  building,  usually  a 
church,  that  calls  for  a  second  look  or  a  careful 
examination.  Most  of  these  little  communities  con- 
sist of  a  row  of  low  and  ungraceful  strudlures  border- 
ing the  highway.  They  are  usually  extended  by 
building  on  at  the  ends.  If  the  town  street  gets 
undesirably  long,  a  second  street  or  a  third  will  be 
made,  on  one  or  both  sides  of  the  main  street,  and 
thus  the  town  acquires  breadth  as  well  as  length. 
The  houses  are  built  immediately  upon  the  roadside, 


94  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  sidewalks  are  quite  unusual.  Nor,  until  the 
place  becomes  a  large  town  or  a  small  city,  is  there, 
in  most  cases,  any  attempt  at  decoration  by  means 
of  shade  trees.  A  tree  may  be  left  if  there  happened 
to  be  one  when  the  village  was  born,  but  rarely  do 
the  inhabitants  turn  their  streets  into  tree-shaded 
avenues.  There  would  be  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  the  acflivities  of  Village  Improvement  Societies 
in  Cuba,  if  it  were  not  for  the  fadl  that  such  tree- 
planting  would  involve  pushing  all  the  houses  ten 
or  fifteen  feet  back  from  the  roadside. 

I  have  never  studied  the  system  of  town  building 
in  the  island,  yet  it  is  presumable  that  there  was 
some  such  system.  In  the  larger  places,  there  is 
usually  a  central  park  around  which  are  arranged  the 
church,  the  public  buildings,  and  the  stores.  Whether 
these  were  so  constructed  from  an  original  plan,  or 
whether  they  are  an  evolution,  along  a  general  plan, 
from  the  long,  single  street,  I  do  not  know.  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  former  was  the  case,  and 
that  it  followed  the  location  of  a  church.  The  custom 
is,  of  course,  of  Spanish  origin,  and  is  common 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Latin  America.  It 
finds  a  fair  parallel  in  our  own  country  custom,  by 
no  means  infrequent,  of  an  open  "green"  or  common 
in  front  of  the  village  church  and  the  town  hall. 
Tree-setting  along  the  Cuban  highways,  more  par- 
ticularly in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cities,  is  not  at 
all  unusual,  and  some  of  these  shaded  roads  are 
exceedingly  charming.     Some  are  entirely  over-arched 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  95 

by  laurel  trees  and  the  gorgeous  flamboyan,  making 
long  tunnels  of  shade  **  through  whose  broken  roof 
the  sky  looks  in."  Evidently  the  Spanish  authorities 
were  too  much  interested  in  making  money  and 
enjoying  themselves  in  the  cities  to  care  very  much 
for  what  happened  to  the  Cubans  in  the  villages, 
as  long  as  they  paid  the  money  that  filled  the  official 
pocket  and  paid  for  the  official  entertainment,  and 
the  Cubans  were  too  busy  getting  that  money  to  have 
much  time  for  village  improvement.  The  Spaniards, 
following  their  home  custom,  might  decorate  a  military 
highway  to  some  extent,  but  the  rough  trail  over 
which  the  peasant  carried  his  little  crop  did  not 
concern  them.  That  was  quite  the  business  of  the 
peasant  who  had  neither  the  time  nor  money  to  do 
anything  about  it. 

The  question  of  good  roads  in  Cuba  is  very  much 
what  it  is  in  this  country.  Cuba  needs  more  good 
roads  than  its  people  can  afford  to  build;  so  does  the 
United  States.  At  the  time  of  the  American  occu- 
pation, in  1899,  there  were  only  160  miles  of  im- 
proved highway  in  the  entire  island.  Of  this,  85 
m.iles  were  in  Havana  Province,  and  75  miles  in 
Pinar  del  Rio.  The  remainder  of  the  island  had 
none.  Some  work  was  done  during  the  First  Inter- 
vention and  more  was  done  under  the  Palma  govern- 
ment. At  the  time  of  the  Second  Intervention, 
there  were  about  380  m^iles.  That  is,  the  United 
States  and  the  Cuban  Republic  built,  in  six  years, 
nearly  40  per  cent,  more  highway  than  the   Spanish 


96  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

authorities  built  in  four  hundred  years.  During  the 
Palma  regime,  plans  were  drawn  for  an  extensive 
road  system,  to  be  carried  out  as  rapidly  as  the 
financial  resources  permitted.  Not  unlike  similar 
proceedings  in  this  country,  in  river  and  harbor 
work  and  public  buildings,  politics  came  into  the 
matter  and,  like  our  own  under  similar  circumstances, 
each  Congressman  insisted  that  some  of  such  work 
as  could  immediately  be  undertaken,  some  of  the 
money  that  could  be  immediately  spent,  should 
benefit  his  particular  distrid:.  The  result  was  that 
what  was  done  by  the  Cubans  was  somewhat  scat- 
tered, short  stretches  built  here  and  there,  new 
bridges  built  when  there  might  or  might  not  be  a 
usable  road  to  them.  The  Cuban  plan  involved,  for 
its  completion,  a  period  of  years  and  a  large  appro- 
priation. It  called  for  comparatively  small  yearly 
appropriations  for  many  roads,  for  more  than  four 
hundred  different  projeds.  Then  came  the  Second 
Intervention,  in  1906,  with  what  has  seemed  to  many 
of  us  an  utterly  unwise  and  unwarranted  expenditure 
for  the  completion  of  certain  seledled  projedls  included 
in  the  Cuban  plan.  It  may  be  granted  that  the  roads 
were  needed,  some  of  them  very  much  needed,  but 
there  are  thousands  of  miles  of  unconstruded  but 
much  needed  roads  in  the  United  States.  Yet,  in 
this  country.  Federal,  State,  county,  and  town 
treasuries  are  not  drained  to  their  last  dollar,  and 
their  credit  strained,  to  build  those  roads.  From 
the  drain  on   its   financial   resources,   the   island   will 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  97 

recover,  but  the  misfortune  appears  in  the  setting 
of  a  standard  for  Federal  expenditure,  in  its  total 
for  all  purposes  amounting  to  about  ^40,000,000  a 
year,  far  beyond  the  reasonable  or  proper  bearing 
power  of  the  island.  But  the  work  was  done,  the 
money  spent,  and  the  Cubans  were  committed  to 
more  work  and  to  further  expenditure.  I  find  no 
data  showing  with  exactness  the  mileage  completed 
by  the  Magoon  government,  which  came  to  an  end 
in  January,  1909,  but  a  Cuban  official  report  made 
at  the  end  of  1910  shows  that  the  combined  activities 
of  the  respective  administrations,  Spanish,  American, 
and  Cuban,  had  given  the  island,  at  that  time, 
pradlically  a  thousand  miles  of  improved  highway, 
distributed  throughout   the  island. 

To  see  the  real  Cuba,  one  must  get  into  the  coun- 
try. Havana  is  the  principal  city,  and  for  many  it 
is  the  most  interesting  place  on  the  island,  but  it  is 
no  more  Cuba  than  Paris  is  France  or  than  New 
York  is  the  United  States.  The  real  Cuba  is  rural; 
the  real  Cuban  is  a  countryman,  a  man  of  the  soil. 
If  he  is  rich,  he  desires  to  measure  his  possessions 
in  cahallerias  of  33 J  acres;  if  poor,  in  hedareas  of 
2|  acres.  I  do  not  recall  any  Cuban  cartoon  repre- 
senting the  Cuban  people  that  was  not  a  piClure  of 
the  peasant,  the  guajiro.  Cuba,  as  a  political  organ- 
ism, is  shown  as  a  quite  charming  senorita,  but  el 
pueblo  Cubano,  the  Cuban  people,  are  shown  as  the 
man  of  the  fields.  With  the  present  equipment  of 
railroads,  trolley  lines,   automobile  busses,  and  high- 


98  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ways,  little  excursions  are  easily  made  in  a  day.  The 
railways,  trolleys,  and  automobile  busses  are  unsatis- 
factory means  of  locomotion  for  sight-seeing.  The 
passenger  is  rushed  past  the  very  sights  that  would 
be  of  the  greatest  interest.  To  most  of  us,  a  private 
hired  automobile  is  open  to  the  very  serious  objedlion 
of  its  expensiveness,  an  item  that  may  sometimes 
be  reduced  by  division.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune 
in  more  recent  years  to  be  whirled  around  in  cars 
belonging  to  friends  but  my  favorite  trip  in  earlier 
days  is,  I  presume,  still  open  to  those  who  may  care 
to  make  it.  I  have  recommended  it  to  many,  and 
have  taken  a  number  with  me  over  the  route. 

It  is  an  easy  one-day  excursion  of  about  sixty 
miles,  by  rail  to  Guanajay,  by  carriage  to  Marianao, 
and  return  to  Havana  by  rail.  Morning  trains 
run  to  Guanajay,  through  a  region  generally  attradlive 
and  certainly  interesting  to  the  novice,  by  way  of 
Rincon  and  San  Antonio  de  los  Baiios,  a  somewhat 
roundabout  route,  but  giving  a  very  good  idea  of 
the  country,  its  plantations,  villages,  and  peasant 
homes.  At  Guanajay,  an  early  lunch,  or  a  late 
breakfast,  may  be  obtained  at  the  hotel,  before  or 
after  an  inspecflion  of  the  town  itself,  a  typical  place 
with  its  little  central  park,  its  old  church,  and  typical 
residences.  Inquiry  regarding  the  transportation  to 
Marianao  by  carriage  should  not  be  too  dired:.  It 
should  be  treated  as  a  mere  possibility  depending 
upon  a  reasonable  charge.  I  have  sometimes  spent 
a  very  pleasant  hour  in  intermittent  bargaining  with 


I 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  99 

the  competitors  for  the  job,  although  knowing  very- 
well  what  I  would  pay  and  what  they  would  finally 
accept.  Amiably  condudled,  as  such  discussions 
should  be  in  Cuba,  the  chaffering  becomes  a  matter 
of  mutual  entertainment.  A  bargain  concluded,  a 
start  may  be  made  about  noon  for  a  drive  over  a 
good  road,  through  a  series  of  typical  villages,  to 
Marianao,  in  time  for  a  late  afternoon  train  to 
Havana,  reaching  there  in  ample  time  for  dinner. 
Along  the  road  from  Guanajay  to  Marianao,  Maceo 
swept  with  ruthless  hand  in  1896,  destroying  Spanish 
property.  Here  the  Spaniards,  no  less  ruthless, 
destroyed  the  property  of  Cubans.  It  is  now  a 
region  of  peaceful  industry,  and  little  or  nothing 
remains  to  indicate  its  condition  when  I  first  saw  it. 
The  little  villages  along  the  way  were  in  ruins,  the 
fields  were  uncultivated,  and  there  were  no  cattle. 
At  intervals  there  stood  the  walls  of  what  had  been 
beautiful  country  estates.  Only  one  of  many  was 
left  standing.  At  intervals,  also,  stood  the  Spanish 
blockhouses.  All  along  that  route,  in  1906,  were 
the  insurre(flos  of  the  unfortunate  experience  of  that 
year.  In  the  village  of  Caimito,  a  short  distance 
from  Guanajay,  along  that  road,  I  visited  Pino 
Guerra  at  his  then  headquarters  when  he  and  his 
forces  so  menaced  Havana  that  Secretary  Taft,  in 
his  capacity  of  Peace  Commissioner,  ordered  their 
withdrawal  to  a  greater  distance.  The  trip  by  rail 
and  road,  exhibits  most  of  Cuba's  special  charadler- 
istics.     There  are  fields   of  sugar  cane  and   fields  of 


100  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

tobacco,  country  villages  and  peasant  homes,  fruits 
and  vegetables,  ceiba  trees,  royal  palms,  cocoanut 
palms,  and  mango  trees.  There  is  no  other  trip, 
as  easily  made,  where  so  much  can  be  seen.  But 
there  are  other  excursions  in  the  vicinity,  for  many 
reasons  best  made  by  carriage  or  by  private  hired 
automobile.  Within  fifteen  miles  or  so  of  the  city, 
are  places  like  Calvario,  Bejucal,  and  Managua,  all 
reached  by  good  highways  through  interesting  and 
typical  country,  and  all  well  illustrating  the  real  life 
of  the  real  Cubans.  It  was  in  the  vicinity  of  those 
places  that  Maximo  Gomez  operated  in  1895  and 
1896,  terrorizing  Havana  by  menacing  it  from  the 
south  and  the  east  while  Maceo  threatened  it  from 
the  west.  Another  short  and  pleasant  trip  can  be 
made  around  the  head  of  the  harbor  to  Guanabacoa, 
and  thence  to  Cojimar.  Another  interesting  and 
easily  reached  point  is  Guines,  a  good  example  of 
places  of  its  size  and  class. 

Of  Cuba's  larger  cities,  there  are  a  score  that  would 
demand  attention  in  a  guide-book.  Just  as  there  is 
a  certain  similarity  in  most  American  cities,  in  that 
they  are  colledions  of  business  and  residence  buildings 
of  generally  similar  architedlure,  so  is  there  a  certain 
sameness  in  most  of  Cuba's  cities.  To  see  two  or 
three  of  them  is  to  get  a  general  idea  of  all,  although 
each  has  its  particular  features,  some  particular 
building,  or  some  special  charm  of  surroundings. 
The  most  difficult  of  access  are  Baracoa,  the  oldest 
city  of  the  island,  and  Trinidad,  founded  only  a  few 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  loi 

years  later.  Glancing  at  some  of  these  places,  in 
their  order  from  west  to  east,  the  first  is  Pinar  del 
Rio,  a  comparatively  modern  city,  dating  really 
from  the  second  half  of  the  i8th  Century.  It  owes 
its  past  and  its  present  importance  to  its  location 
as  a  centre  of  the  tobacco  region  of  the  Vuelta  Abajo. 
From  comfortable  headquarters  here,  excursions  can 
be  made,  by  rail  or  road,  through  what  is  perhaps 
the  most  attradlive,  and  not  the  least  interesting 
section  of  the  island.  To  the  north  are  the  Organ 
Mountains  and  the  pid:uresque  town  of  Vinales,  one 
of  the  most  charming  spots,  in  point  of  scenery,  in 
Cuba.  To  the  west,  by  rail,  is  Guane,  the  oldest 
settlement  in  western  Cuba,  and  all  around  are 
beautiful  hills  and  cultivated  valleys.  Eastward 
from  Havana,  the  first  city  of  importance  is  Matanzas. 
Here  is  much  to  interest  and  much  to  charm,  the 
city  itself,  its  harbor,  its  two  rivers,  the  famous 
valley  of  the  Yumuri,  and  the  caves  of  Bellamar. 
The  city,  founded  in  1693,  lies  along  the  shore  of 
the  bay  and  rises  to  the  higher  ground  of  the  hills 
behind  it.  It  lies  about  sixty  miles  from  Havana, 
and  is  easily  reached  by  rail  or  by  automobile. 
The  next  city  in  order,  also  on  the  north  coast,  is 
Cardenas,  a  modern  place,  settled  in  1828,  and  owing 
its  importance  to  its  convenience  as  a  shipping  port 
for  the  numerous  sugar  estates  in  its  vicinity,  an 
importance  now  somewhat  modified  by  the  facilities 
for  rail  shipment  to  other  harbors.  Seventy-five 
miles    or   so    further    eastward    is    Sagua    la    Grande, 


102  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

another  point  of  former  convenience  as  a  shipping 
point  for  sugar.  The  city  itself  is  located  on  a  river, 
or  estuary,  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  its  mouth. 
Forty  miles  or  so  further  on  are  Remedios  and 
Caibarien,  a  few  miles  apart,  the  latter  on  the  coast 
and  the  former  a  few  miles  inland.  Caibarien,  like 
Cardenas  and  Sagua,  is  chiefly  notable  as  a  sugar 
port,  while  Remedios  is  the  centre  of  one  of  the  great 
tobacco  districts,  producing  a  leaf  of  good  quality 
but  generally  inferior  to  the  Partidos  of  Havana 
Province,  and  quite  inferior  to  the  famous  Vuelta 
Ahajo.  Southward  of  this  region,  and  about  midway 
the  width  of  the  island,  somewhat  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  eastward  of  Havana,  is  the  city  of 
Santa  Clara,  better  known  in  the  island  as  Villa 
Clara.  The  city  dates  its  existence  from  1689.  It 
lies  surrounded  by  rolling  hills  and  expansive  valleys, 
but  in  the  absence  of  extensive  plantations  in  its 
immediate  environs,  one  is  led  to  wonder  just  why 
so  pleasant  a  place  should  be  there,  and  why  it  should 
have  reached  its  present  proportions.  For  the  tour- 
ist who  wants  to  "see  it  all,"  it  is  an  excellent  and 
most  comfortable  central  headquarters. 

From  Villa  Clara  it  is  only  a  short  run  to  Cien- 
fuegos,  the  "city  of  a  hundred  fires,"  a  modern 
place,  only  about  a  hundred  years  old.  There  is 
every  probability  that  Columbus  entered  the  harbor 
in  1494,  and  perhaps  no  less  probability  that 
Ocampo  entered  in  1508,  on  his  voyage  around  the 
island.     The  harbor  extends  inland  for  several  miles, 


c  •  »       c  c  c  c  o 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  103 

with  an  irregular  shore  hne,  behind  which  rises  a 
border  hne  of  hills.  The  city  itself  is  some  four  or 
five  miles  from  the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  It  came 
into  existence,  and  still  exists,  chiefly  by  reason  of 
the  sugar  business.  It  is  an  important  outlet  for 
that  industry,  and  many  estates  are  in  its  near  vicin- 
ity. The  old  city  of  Trinidad  is  reached,  by  boat, 
from  Cienfuegos,  or  rather  its  port  city,  Casilda, 
is  so  reached.  Presumably,  it  was  the  port  city  that 
Velasquez  founded  in  15 14,  a  location  a  few  miles 
inland  being  chosen  later,  as  being  less  exposed  to 
attacks  by  the  pirates  and  freebooters  who  infested 
the  Caribbean  Sea  for  many  years.  It  is  said  that 
Cortes  landed  here  and  recruited  his  forces  on  his 
way  to  Mexico,  in  15 18.  The  city  itself  stands  on 
the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills  that  form  its  highly 
efFedlive  background.  Its  streets  are  narrow  and 
tortuous.  Like  most  of  the  cities  of  the  island,  and 
most  of  the  cities  of  the  world,  it  has  its  humble 
homes  of  the  poor,  and  its  mansions  of  the  rich. 
Immediately  behind  it  stands  a  hill  with  an  elevation 
of  about  nine  hundred  feet  above  sea-level.  Its 
name  indicates  the  reason  for  its  application.  La 
Figia,  the  "lookout,"  or  the  "watch-tower."  From 
its  summit,  we  may  assume  that  the  people  of  earlier 
times  scanned  the  horizon  for  any  sign  of  approaching 
pirates  by  whom  they  might  be  attacked.  It  serves 
a  more  satisfactory  purpose  nowadays  in  that  it 
affords  one  of  the  loveliest  panoramic  views  to  be 
found    anywhere   in   Cuba.     Not   far   away,    and    ac- 


104  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

cessible  from  the  city,  is  the  Pico  de  Potrerillo,  about 
3,000  feet  elevation,  the  highest  point  in  Central 
Cuba.  Northeast  of  Trinidad,  and  reached  by  rail 
from  Villa  Clara,  is  Sandii  Spiritus,  Trinidad's  rival 
in  antiquity,  both  having  been  founded,  by  Velasquez, 
in  the  same  year.  Here  also  are  narrow,  crooked 
streets  in  a  city  of  no  mean  attractions,  although  it 
lacks  the  piduresque  charm  of  its  rival  in  age.  It 
is  an  inland  city,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
coast,  but  even  that  did  not  protedl  it  from  attack 
by  the  pirates.  It  was  several  times  the  vidlim  of 
their  depredations. 


VII 

AROUND  THE  ISLAND:  Continued 

next  city,  eastward,  is  Camaguey,  in 
many  ways  doubtless  the  best  worth  a  visit, 
next  to  Havana,  of  any  city  on  the  island. 
It  is  a  place  of  interesting  history  and,  for  me  per- 
sonally, a  place  of  somewhat  mixed  recollecflions. 
The  history  may  wait  until  I  have  told  my  story.  I 
think  it  must  have  been  on  my  third  visit  to  the 
island,  early  in  1902.  On  my  arrival  in  Havana, 
I  met  my  friend  Charles  M.  Pepper,  a  fellow  laborer 
in  the  newspaper  field.  He  at  once  informed  me  that 
he  and  I  were  to  start  the  next  morning  for  a  three 
or  four  weeks'  journey  around  the  island.  It  was 
news  to  me,  and  the  fad  that  my  baggage,  excepting 
the  suitcase  that  I  carried,  had  failed  to  come  on 
the  boat  that  brought  me,  led  me  to  demur.  My 
objedlions  were  overruled  on  the  ground  that  we 
could  carry  little  baggage  anyway,  and  all  that  was 
needed  could  be  bought  before  starting,  or  along  the 
way.  The  next  morning  saw  us  on  the  early  train 
for  Matanzas.  We  spent  a  week  or  ten  days  in  that 
city,  in  Cardenas,  Sagua,  Santa  Clara,  and  Cien- 
fuegos,  renewing  former  acquaintance  and  noting 
the  changes  efFecfled  by  the  restoration  from  the  war 


io6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

period.  That  was  before  the  completion  of  the  Cuba 
Railway.  To  get  to  Camaguey,  then  known  as 
Puerto  Principe,  we  took  the  steamer  at  Cienfuegos 
and  journeyed  along  the  coast  to  Jucaro.  There, 
because  of  shallow  water,  we  were  dropped  into  a 
shore  boat  some  four  or  five  miles  from  the  coast, 
and  there  our  troubles  began.  Fortunately,  it  was 
early  morning.  We  got  something  to  eat  and  some 
cofFee,  which  is  almost  invariably  good  in  Cuba,  but 
when  we  meet  nowadays  we  have  a  laugh  over  that 
breakfast  at  Jucaro.  I  don't  know,  and  really  don't 
care,  what  the  place  is  now.  After  some  hours  of 
waiting,  we  secured  passage  in  an  antiquated  little 
car  attached  to  a  freight  train  carrying  supplies  and 
structural  material  to  Ciego  de  Avila,  for  use  by  the 
railway  then  being  built  in  both  dirediions,  eastward 
and  westward  from  that  point.  The  line  that  there 
crosses  the  island  from  north  to  south  was  built  in 
the  time  of  the  Ten  Years'  War  (1868-1878)  as  a 
barrier  against  the  revolutionists  operating  in  eastern 
Cuba.  It  was  restored  for  use  in  the  revolution  of 
1895,  t>ut  its  blockhouses  at  every  kilometre,  and  its 
barbed  wire  tangles,  were  entirely  inefFedlive  against 
Gomez  and  Maceo  and  other  leaders,  all  of  whom 
crossed  it  at  their  own  sweet  will,  although  not  with- 
out an  occasional  vicious  little  contest.  We  reached 
Ciego  de  Avila  soon  after  noon,  and  had  to  wait  there 
over  night  for  a  further  advance.  The  place  is  now 
a  thriving  little  city,  but  it  was  then  a  somewhat 
sprawling   village  with    a   building   that  was  called  a 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  107 

hotel.  But  we  got  food  and  drink  and  beds,  all  that 
is  really  necessary  for  experienced  campaigners.  For 
the  next  two  days,  Old  Man  Trouble  made  himself 
our  personal  companion  and  did  not  lose  sight  of 
us  for  a  single  minute. 

Through  personal  acquaintance  with  the  railway 
officials,  we  obtained  permission  to  travel  over  the  line, 
on  any  and  all  trains,  as  far  as  it  was  then  built,  some 
forty  miles  or  so  toward  Camaguey.  Through  them, 
also,  we  arranged  for  saddle  horses  to  meet  us  at  rail- 
head for  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  There  were  no 
trains  except  construction  trains  carrying  rails,  ties, 
lumber,  and  other  materials.  We  boarded  the  first 
one  out  in  the  morning.  We  had  our  choice  of  riding 
on  any  of  those  commodities  that  we  might  seledl. 
There  was  not  even  a  caboose.  We  chose  a  car  of 
lumber  as  the  most  promising.  For  four  or  five  hours 
we  crawled  through  that  country,  roasting  and  broiling 
on  that  pile  of  planks,  but  the  ties  and  the  rails  were 
even  hotter.  The  only  way  we  could  keep  a  place  cool 
enough  to  sit  on  was  by  sitting  on  it.  I  once  occupied 
a  stateroom  next  to  the  steamer's  funnel.  I  have 
seen,  day  after  day,  the  pitch  bubble  between  the 
planks  of  a  steamer's  deck  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  I  have 
been  in  other  places  that  I  thought  plenty  hot  enough, 
but  never  have  I  been  so  thoroughly  cooked  as  were 
my  companion  and  I  perched  on  the  lumber  pile.  On 
top  of  that,  or  rather  on  top  of  us,  there  poured  a  con- 
stant rain  of  cinders  from  the  locomotive  pufiing  away 
a  few  cars  ahead  of  us.     The  road-bed  was  rough,  and 


io8  ^      CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

at  times  we  had  to  hang  on  for  our  very  lives.  We  can 
laugh  about  it  now,  but,  at  the  time,  it  was  no  joke. 
At  last  we  reached  the  end  of  the  line,  somewhere  in 
a  hot  Cuban  forest,  but  there  were  no  horses.  We 
watched  the  operation  of  railway  building,  and  took 
turns  in  anathematizing,  in  every  language  of  which 
we  had  any  knowledge,  the  abandoned  ruffian  who 
failed  to  appear  with  those  horses.  Before  night,  we 
were  almost  ready  to  wish  that  he  had  died  on  the  way. 
At  last  he  came.  Our  baggage  was  loaded  on  a  pack- 
horse;  we  mounted  and  rode  gallantly  on  our  way.  We 
had  about  thirty  miles  to  cover  by  that  or  some  other 
means  of  locomotion.  Before  we  had  gone  a  mile, 
we  developed  a  clear  understanding  of  the  reasons  for 
the  sale  of  those  horses  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  but  why  the  United  States  Army  ever 
bought  them  for  cavalry  mounts  we  could  not  even 
imagine.  There  was  no  road.  Most  of  the  way  we 
followed  the  partly  constructed  road-bed  for  the  new 
railway,  making  frequent  detours,  through  field  or 
jungle,  to  get  around  gaps  or  places  of  impossible 
roughness.  Before  we  had  covered  two  miles,  we 
began  to  wish  that  the  man  who  sent  those  horses,  a 
Spaniard,  by  the  way,  might  be  doomed  to  ride  them 
through  all  eternity  under  the  saddles  with  which  they 
were  equipped.  We  were  sorry  enough  for  the  poor 
brutes,  but  sorrier  still  for  ourselves^.  For  several 
days,  I  limped  in  misery  from  a  long  row  of  savage 
blisters  raised  on  my  leg  by  rawhide  knots  with  which 
my  saddle  had  been  repaired.     An  hour  after  starting. 


I 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  109 

we  were  overtaken  by  a  heavy  thunder-shower.  At 
nightfall,  after  having  covered  about  fifteen  wretched 
miles,  we  reached  a  construction  camp  where  an  Ameri- 
can nobleman,  disguised  as  a  secfhion-boss,  gave  us 
food  and  lodging  in  the  little  palm-leaf  shack  that 
served  as  his  temporary  home.  It  was  barely  big 
enough  for  one,  but  he  made  it  do  for  three. 

Early  in  the  morning,  we  resumed  our  journey, 
plodding  along  as  best  we  could  over  a  half-graded^ 
"right-of-way."  A  couple  of  hours  brought  us  to  a 
larger  construd:ion  camp  where  we  halted  for  such 
relief  as  we  could  secure.  We  then  were  some  twelve 
or  fourteen  miles  from  our  destination.  We  discussed 
the  wisdom  of  making  the  rest  of  the  way  on  foot,  as 
preferable  to  that  particular  kind  of  saddle-work, 
leaving  our  baggage  to  come  along  with  the  horses 
when  it  might.  But  fortune  smiled,  or  it  may  have 
been  just  a  grimace.  Word  came  that  a  team,  two 
horses  and  a  wagon,  would  go  to  the  city  that  afternoon, 
and  there  would  be  room  for  us.  We  told  our  pilot, 
the  man  with  the  horses,  just  what  we  thought  of  him 
and  all  his  miserable  ancestors,  gave  him  a  couple  of 
pesos,  and  rejoiced  over  our  prospedls  of  better  fortune. 
But  it  proved  to  be  only  an  escape  from  the  fire  into 
the  frying-pan.  I  have  driven  over  many  miles  of 
South  African  veldt,  straight  "across  lots,"  in  all  com- 
fort, but  while  the  general  topography  of  Camaguey 
puts  it  somewhat  into  the  veldt  class,  its  immediate 
surface  did  not  in  the  least  remind  me  of  the  South 
African  plateau.     The  trip  was  little  short  of  wonderful 


no  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

for  its  bumpiness.  We  got  to  Camaguey  sore  and 
bruised  but,  as  far  as  we  could  discover,  physically 
intadl,  and,  having  arrived,  may  now  return  to  its 
history  and  description.  May  no  "gentle  reader" 
who  scans  these  pages  repeat  our  experience  in  getting 
there.  It  is  supposed  that  here,  or  immediately  here- 
about, was  the  place  of  "fifty  houses  and  a  thousand 
people"  encountered  by  the  messengers  of  Columbus, 
when  he  sent  them  inland  to  deliver  official  letters  of 
introduction  to  the  gorgeous  ruler  of  the  country  in 
which  he  thought  he  was.  Different  writers  tell  dif- 
ferent stories  about  the  settlement  of  the  place,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  among  the  earliest  to  be 
settled.  Columbus  gave  to  a  harbor  in  that  vicinity, 
in  all  probability  the  Bay  of  Nuevitas,  the  name  Puerto 
del  Principe,  or  Port  of  the  Prince.  He  called  the 
islands  of  the  neighborhood  the  Gardens  of  the  King. 
On  that  bay,  about  15 14,  Diego  Velasquez  founded  a 
city,  probably  the  present  Nuevitas,  which  he  is  said 
to  have  called  Santa  Maria.  Somewhere  from  two 
to  ten  years  later,  an  inland  settlement  was  made. 
This  developed  into  the  city  that  was  afterward  given 
the  name  of  Santa  Maria  del  Puerto  del  Principe,  now 
very  properly  changed  to  the  old  Indian  name  of 
Camaguey. 

If  the  idea  of  an  inland  location  was,  as  it  is  said  to 
have  been,  protecflion  against  pirates  and  buccaneers, 
it  was  not  altogether  a  success.  The  distinguished 
pirate,  Mr.  Henry  Morgan,  raided  the  place  very  ef- 
fedlively  in  1668,  securing  much  loot.     In  his  book, 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  m 

published  in  1871,  Mr.  Hazard  says:  *^ Puerto  Principe 
(the  present  Camaguey)  is,  probably,  the  oldest, 
quaintest  town  on  the  island,  —  in  facfl,  it  may  be  said 
to  be  a  finished  town,  as  the  world  has  gone  on  so  fast 
that  the  place  seems  a  million  years  old,  and  from  its 
style  of  dress,  a  visitor  might  think  he  was  put  back 
almost  to  the  days  of  Columbus."  There  have  been 
changes  since  that  time,  but  the  old  charm  is  still  there, 
the  narrow  and  crooked  streets,  forming  almost  a 
labyrinth,  the  old  buildings,  and  much  else  that  I 
earnestly  hope  may  never  be  changed.  There  is  now 
an  up-to-date  hotel,  connected  with  the  railway  com- 
pany, but  if  I  were  to  go  there  again  and  the  old  hotel 
was  habitable,  I  know  I  should  go  where  I  first  stayed, 
and  where  we  occupied  a  huge  barrack-like  room 
charged  on  our  bill  as  ^^  hahitaciones  preferenteSy^  the 
state  chamber.  It  had  a  dirty  tiled  floor,  and  was  the 
home  of  many  fleas,  but  there  was  something  about  it 
that  I  liked.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  of  Cama- 
guey, "the  city  of  the  plain,"  is  lovely,  or  picturesque 
or  even  interesting.  No  more  is  all  of  Paris,  or  Buda- 
pest, or  Amsterdam,  or  Washington.  They  are  only 
so  in  some  of  their  component  parts,  but  it  is  those 
parts  that  remain  in  the  memory.  The  country  around 
the  city  is  a  vast  plain,  for  many  years,  and  still,  a 
grazing  country,  a  land  of  horses  and  cattle.  The 
charm  is  in  the  city  itself.  If  I  could  see  only  one 
place  outside  of  Havana,  I  would  see  Camaguey.  A 
little  less  than  fifty  miles  to  the  north  is  Nuevitas, . 
reached  by  one  of  the  first  railways  built  in  Cuba,  now 


112  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

if  ever  little  more  than  the  port  city  for  its  larger 
neighbor.  Columbus  became  somewhat  ecstatic  over 
the  region.  Perhaps  it  was  then  more  charming, 
or  the  season  m.ore  favorable,  than  when  I  saw 
it.  I  do  not  recall  any  feeling  of  special  enthusiasm 
about  its  scenic  charms.  Perhaps  I  should  have 
discovered  them  had  I  stayed  longer.  Perhaps  I 
should  have  been  more  impressed  had  it  not  been  for 
the  impressions  of  Camaguey.  I  saw  Nuevitas  only 
briefly  on  my  way  eastward  on  that  memorable  excur- 
sion by  construction  train  and  saddle.  The  only  route 
then  available  was  by  boat  along  the  north  shore, 
and  it  was  there  that  we  caught  the  steamer  for 
Santiago. 

That  sail  along  the  coast  would  have  afforded 
greater  pleasure  had  it  lacked  the  noisy  presence  of 
an  itinerant  opera  company  whose  members  per- 
sisted, day  and  night,  in  exercising  their  lungs  to  the 
accompaniment  of  an  alleged  piano  in  the  cabin.  I 
have  a  far  more  pleasant  recolledlion,  or  rather  a 
memory  because  it  stays  with  me,  of  music  in  those 
waters.  The  transport  on  which  I  went  to  Porto 
Rico,  in  the  summer  of  1898,  carried,  among  other 
troops,  a  battery  of  light  artillery.  It  had  an  un- 
usually good  bugler,  and  his  sounding  of  "taps" 
on  those  soft,  starlit  nights  remains  with  me  as  one 
of  the  sweetest  sounds  I  have  ever  heard.  The 
shrieks,  squalls,  and  roars  of  those  opera  people  were 
in  a  wholly  different  class.  About  seventy-five  miles 
east  of  Nuevitas  is  Gibara,   merely  a  shipping  port 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  113 

for  the  inland  city  of  liolguin.  The  former  is  only- 
one  of  a  number  of  such  places  found  along  the  coast. 
Most  of  them  are  attradlive  in  point  of  surrounding 
scenery,  but  little  or  not  at  all  attractive  in  them- 
selves, being  mere  groups  of  uninteresting  stru(51:ures 
of  the  conventional  type.  Holguin  is  perhaps  two 
hundred  years  old,  quite  pleasantly  situated,  but 
affording  no  special  points  of  interest  for  the  tourist. 
The  city  is  now  easily  reached  by  a  branch  of  the 
Cuba  Railway.  It  is  worth  the  visit  of  those  who 
*'want  to  see  it  all."  Beyond  Gibara  is  Nipe  Bay,  not 
improbably  the  first  Cuban  harbor  entered  by  Colum- 
bus. Nipe  Bay  and  its  near  neighbor,  Banes  Bay, 
are  the  centres  of  what  is  now  the  greatest  industrial 
activity  of  any  part  of  the  island.  Here,  recent 
American  investment  is  measured  in  scores  of  millions 
of  dollars.  Here,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood, 
are  some  of  the  largest  sugar  plantations  and  mills 
on  the  island,  the  Boston  and  the  Preston.  A  little 
to  the  west  of  Gibara  are  two  others,  Chaparra  and 
Delicias.  Hitherto,  the  western  half  of  the  island 
has  been  the  great  producing  distridl,  but  present 
indications  point  to  a  not  distant  time  when  the 
eastern  district  will  rival  and,  it  may  be,  outstrip 
the  sedlion  of  older  development.  The  foundation 
is  already  laid  for  an  extensive  enterprise.  Nature 
has  afforded  one  of  the  finest  land-locked  harbors  in 
the  world  at  Nipe,  and  another,  though  smaller,  a 
few  miles  away,  at  Banes.  The  region  now  has 
railroad   conne(5lion  with   practically   all   parts  of  the 


114  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

island.  Around  those  bays  are  sugar  lands,  tobacco 
lands,  fruit  lands,  and  a  few  miles  inland  are  the 
vast  iron  ore  beds  that,  as  they  are  developed,  will 
afford  employment  for  an  army  of  workmen.  Nipe 
Bay  is  the  natural  commercial  outlet  for  a  vast  area  of 
richly  productive  soil.  At  present,  the  region  aiFords 
nothing  of  special  interest  except  its  industrial  activities, 
its  miles  and  miles  of  sugar  cane,  its  huge  mills,  and 
the  villages  built  to  house  its  thousands  of  workmen. 
Seventy-five  miles  or  so  eastward  of  Nipe,  lies  one 
of  the  most  charming  and  interesting  spots  on  the 
island.  This  is  old  Baracoa,  the  oldest  settlement 
on  the  island,  now  to  be  reached  only  by  water  or 
by  the  roughest  of  journeys  over  mountain  trails. 
The  town  itself  does  not  amount  to  much,  but  the 
bay  is  a  gem,  a  little,  circular  basin,  forest-shaded 
to  its  border,  its  waters  clear  as  crystal.  Behind 
it  rise  the  forest-clad  hills,  step  on  step,  culminating 
in  el  Tunque,  "the  anvil,"  with  an  elevation  of  about 
eighteen  hundred  feet.  Baracoa  is  supposed  to  be  the 
place  about  which  Columbus  wrote  one  of  his  most 
glowing  and  extravagant  eulogies.  Whether  it  is 
really  worth  the  time  and  the  discomfort  of  a  special 
trip  to  see  it,  is  perhaps  somewhat  doubtful.  It  is 
a  place  of  scenery  and  sentiment,  and  little  else. 
There  is  an  old  fort  on  a  hilltop,  not  particularly 
picfluresque,  and  an  old  church  in  which  is  a  cross 
quite  doubtfully  reported  as  having  been  furnished 
by  Columbus.  Sometime,  years  hence,  there  will  be 
easier   communication,   and    the    fertile    hillsides    and 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  115 

still  more  fertile  valleys  will  supply  various  produdls 
for  consumption  in  the  United  States.  About  twenty- 
five  miles  east  of  Baracoa  is  the  end  of  the  island, 
Cape  Maisi.  Swinging  around  that,  the  coasting 
steamers  turn  due  west  along  the  shore  to  Santiago, 
passing  the  harbor  of  Guantanamo,  with  its  United 
States  naval  station.  That  place  is  reached  by.  rail 
from  Santiago,  a  highly  pi(5turesque  route  through 
the  Guantanamo  valley.  Besides  the  naval  station, 
the  place  is  a  shipping  port,  affording  nothing  of 
special  interest  to  the  traveller  who  has  seen  other 
and  more  easily  accessible  cities  of  its  type.  It 
always  seems  to  me  that  Santiago,  or  more  properly 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  would  be  more  engaging  if  we 
could  forget  the  more  recent  history  of  this  city, 
known  to  most  Cubans  as  Cuba  (pronounced  Cooba). 
No  doubt,  it  is  a  much  better  place  in  which  to  live 
than  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  and  much  of  its  old 
charm  remains.  Its  setting  cannot  be  changed.  It 
is  itself  a  hillside  town,  surrounded  by  hills,  with 
real  mountains  on  its  horizon.  The  old  cathedral, 
a  dominant  strudlure,  has  been  quite  a  little  patched 
up  in  recent  years,  and  shows  the  patches.  The 
houses,  big  and  little,  are  still  painted  in  nearly  all 
the  shades  of  the  spedlrum.  But  there  is  a  seeming 
change,  doubtless  psychological  rather  than  physical. 
One  sees,  in  imagination,  Cervera's  squadron  "bottled 
up"  in  the  beautiful  harbor,  while  Sampson's  ships 
lie  outside  waiting  for  it  to  come  out.  It  is  difficult 
to  forget  San  Juan  Hill  and  El  Caney,  a  few  miles 


ii6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

behind  the  city,  and  remember  only  its  older  stories. 
A  good  deal  of  history  has  been  made  here  in  the 
last  four  hundred  years.  Its  pages  show  such  names 
as  Velasquez,  Grijalva,  Hernan  Cortes,  and  Narvaez, 
and  centuries  later,  Cespedes,  Marti,  and  Palma. 
Here  was  enadled  the  grim  tragedy  of  the  Virginius, 
and  here  was  the  conflidl  that  terminated  Spain's  once 
vast  dominion  in  the  western  world.  My  own  impres- 
sion is  that  most  of  its  history  has  already  been  writ- 
ten, that  it  will  have  no  important  future.  As  a  port 
of  shipment,  I  think  it  must  yield  to  the  new  port, 
Nipe  Bay,  on  the  north  coast.  It  is  merely  a  bit 
of  commercial  logic,  the  question  of  a  sixty-mile  rail- 
haul  as  compared  with  a  voyage  around  the  end  of 
the  island.  Santiago  will  not  be  wiped  from  the  map, 
but  I  doubt  its  long  continuance  as  the  leading  com- 
mercial centre  of  eastern  Cuba.  It  is  also  a  fairly  safe 
predidiion  that  the  same  laws  of  commercial  logic  will 
some  day  operate  to  drain  northward  the  produdls  of 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Cauto,  and  the  region  behind 
old  Manzanillo  and  around  the  still  older  Bayamo. 

Except  the  places  earlier  mentioned,  Jucaro,  Trini- 
dad and  Cienfuegos,  there  are  no  southern  ports  to 
the  west  until  Batabano  is  reached,  immediately 
south  of,  and  only  a  few  miles  from,  the  city  of 
Havana.  It  is  a  shallow  harbor,  of  no  commercial 
importance.  It  serves  mainly  as  the  centre  of  a 
sponge-fishing  industry,  and  as  a  point  of  departure 
for  the  Isle  of  Pines,  and  for  ports  on  the  south  coast. 
The  Isle  of  Pines  is  of  interest  for  a  number  of  rea- 


o 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  117 

sons,  among  which  are  its  history,  its  mineral  springs, 
its  deHghtful  dimate,  and  an  American  colony  that 
has  made  much  trouble  in  Washington.  Columbus 
landed  there  in  1494,  and  gave  it  the  name  La 
Evangelista.  It  lies  about  sixty  miles  off  the  coast, 
almost  due  south  from  Havana.  Between  the  island 
and  the  mainland  lies  a  labyrinth  of  islets  and  keys, 
many  of  them  verdure-clad.  Its  area  is  officially 
given  as  1,180  square  miles.  There  seems  no  doubt 
that,  at  some  earlier  time,  it  formed  a  part  of  the 
main  island,  v/ith  which  it  compares  in  geologic 
strudlure  and  configuration.  It  is  now,  in  efFed:,  two 
islands  conneded  by  a  marsh;  the  northern  part 
being  broken  and  hilly,  and  the  southern  part  low, 
flat,  and  sandy,  probably  a  comparatively  recently 
reclaimed  coralline  plain.  The  island  has  been,  at 
various  times,  the  headquarters  of  bands  of  pirates, 
a  military  hospital,  a  penal  institution,  and  a  source 
of  political  trouble.  It  is  now  a  Cuban  island  the 
larger  part  of  which  is  owned  by  Americans.  It  is 
a  part  of  the  province  of  Havana,  and  will  probably 
so  remain  as  long  as  Cuba  is  Cuba.  My  personal 
investigations  of  the  disputed  question  of  the  political 
ownership  of  the  island  began  early  in  1899.  I  then 
reached  a  conclusion  from  which  I  have  not  since 
seen  any  reason  to  depart.  The  island  was  then, 
had  always  been,  and  is  now,  as  much  a  part  of  Cuba 
as  Long  Island  and  Key  West  have  been  and  are 
parts  of  the  United   States. 

Just  who   it   was  that  first  raised    the   question  of 


ii8  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ownership,  none  of  us  who  investigated  the  matter 
at  the  time  of  its  particular  acuteness,  was  able  to 
determine  satisfactorily,  although  some  of  us  had  a 
well-defined  suspicion.  The  man  is  now  dead,  and 
I  shall  not  give  his  name.  Article  I,  of  the  Treaty 
of  Paris,  of  December  lo,  1898,  presumably  disposes 
of  the  Cuban  area;  Article  II  refers  to  Porto  Rico; 
and  Article  III  refers  to  the  Philippines.  The  issue 
regarding  the  Isle  of  Pines  was  raised  under  Article 
II,  presumably  referring  only  to  Porto  Rico.  A 
slight  but  possibly  important  difference  appears  in 
the  Spanish  and  the  English  versions.  The  English 
text  reads  that  "Spain  cedes  .  .  .  the  island  of 
Porto  Rico  and  other  islands  now  under  Spanish 
sovereignty"  etc.  The  Spanish  text,  literally  trans- 
lated runs:  "Spain  cedes  .  .  .  the  island  of  Porto 
Rico  and  the  others  that  are  now  under  its  sover- 
eignty." The  obvious  reference  of  the  article  is  to 
Mona,  Viequez,  and  Culebra,  all  small  islands  in 
Porto  Rican  waters.  But  the  question  was  raised 
and  was  vigorously  discussed.  An  official  map  was 
issued  showing  the  island  as  American  territory. 
Americans  jumped  in,  bought  up  large  traces,  and 
started  a  lively  real  estate  boom.  They  advertised 
it  widely  as  American  territory,  and  many  put  their 
little  collections  of  dollars  into  it.  The  claim  of 
Spanish  cession  was  afterward  denied  in  the  very 
document  that  served  to  keep  the  issue  alive  for  a 
number  of  years.  Article  VI  of  the  Piatt  Amend- 
ment,   which     the    Cubans     accepted    with     marked 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  119 

reludlance,  declared  that  the  island  was  omitted  from 
the  boundaries  of  Cuba,  and  that  the  title  and  owner- 
ship should  be  left  to  future  adjustment  by  treaty. 
But  no  alternative  appears  between  cession  and  no 
cession.  Had  the  island  become  definitely  American 
territory  by  cession,  its  alienation,  by  such  a  step, 
would  not  have  been  possible.  When  we  left  Cuba, 
in  1902,  the  official  instructions  from  Washington 
were  that  the  Isle  of  Pines  would  remain  under  a 
de  fado  American  government.  President  Palma, 
accepting  the  transfer,  expressed  his  understanding 
that  it  would  "continue  de  fado  under  the  jurisdidlion 
of  the  Republic  of  Cuba."  In  some  way,  the  depart- 
ing American  authority  failed  to  leave  any  agent  or 
representative  of  the  de  fado  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Cubans  included  the  island 
in  their  new  administration,  very  properly.  When 
the  treaty  proposed  by  the  Piatt  Amendment  came 
before  the  United  States  Senate,  it  hung  fire,  and 
finally  found  lodgment  in  one  of  the  many  pigeon- 
holes generously  provided  for  the  use  of  that  august 
body.  There  it  may  probably  be  found  today,  a 
record  and  nothing  more.  Why.?  For  the  very 
simple  reason  that  some  of  the  resident  claimants 
for  American  ownership  sent  up  a  consignment  of 
cigars  made  on  the  island  from  tobacco  grown  on 
the  island,  and  refused  to  pay  duty  on  them.  The 
ground  of  refusal  was  that  they  were  a  domestic 
produdl,  sent  from  one  port  in  the  United  States  to 
another  port  in  the  same  country,  and  therefore  not 


I20  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

dutiable.  The  case  of  Pearcy  vs  Stranahan,  the 
former  representing  the  shippers,  and  the  latter  being 
the  Colledor  of  the  Port  of  New  York,  came  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  that 
final  authority  decided  and  declared  that  the  Isle  of 
Pines  was  Cuban  territory  and  a  part  of  Cuba.  The 
question  Is  settled,  and  the  Isle  of  Pines  can  become 
territory  of  the  United  States  only  by  purchase,  con- 
quest, or  some  other  form  of  territorial  transfer. 

While  the  American  settlers  In  the  Isle  of  Pines, 
and  the  several  real-estate  companies  who  seek  pur- 
chasers for  their  holdings,  own  a  large  part  of  the 
territory,  they  still  constitute  a  minority  of  the 
population.  Many  of  the  settlers,  probably  most  of 
them,  are  Industrious  and  persistent  In  their  various 
producfllve  activities.  Their  specialty  Is  citrus  fruits, 
but  their  produds  are  not  limited  to  that  line. 
More  than  a  few  have  tried  their  little  experiment  in 
pioneering,  and  have  returned  to  their  home  land 
more  or  less  disgusted  with  their  experience.  Those 
who  have  remained,  and  have  worked  faithfully  and 
intelligently,  have  probably  done  a  little  better  than 
they  would  have  done  at  home.  The  great  wealth 
for  which  all,  doubtless,  earnestly  hoped,  and  in 
which  many,  doubtless,  really  believed,  has  not  come. 
This  settlement  is  only  one  of  many  speculative 
exploitations  In  Cuba.  Some  of  these  have  been 
fairly  honest,  but  many  of  them  have  been  little 
better  than  rank  swindles.  Many  have  been  entirely 
abandoned,  the  buyers  losing  the  hard-earned  dollars 


AROUND  THE  ISLAND  121 

they  had  invested.  Others,  better  located,  have 
been  developed,  by  patience,  persistence,  and  thrift, 
into  fairly  prosperous  colonies.  I  do  not  know  how 
many  vi^lims  have  been  caught  by  unscrupulous  and 
ignorant  promoters  in  the  last  fifteen  years,  prin- 
cipally in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada,  but  they 
are  certainly  many,  so  many  that  the  speculative 
industry  has  declined  in  recent  years.  Many  of  the 
settlers  who  have  remained  have  learned  the  game, 
have  discovered  that  prosperity  in  Cuba  is  purchased 
by  hard  work  just  as  it  is  elsewhere.  In  different 
parts  of  the  island,  east,  west,  and  centre,  there  are 
now  thrifty  and  contented  colonists  who  have  fought 
their  battle,  and  have  learned  the  rules  that  nature 
has  formulated  as  the  condition  of  success  in  such 
countries.  Whether  these  people  have  really  done  any 
better  than  they  would  have  done  had  they  stayed  at 
home  and  followed  the  rules  there  laid  down,  is  perhaps 
another  question.  At  all  events,  there  are  hundreds  of 
very  comfortable  and  happy  American  homes  in  Cuba, 
even  in  the  Isle  of  Pines,  where  they  persist  in  growling 
because  it  is  Cuba  and  not  the  United  States. 

In  a  review  of  a  country  including  forty-four 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  condensed  into 
two  chapters,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  include  all 
that  is  worth  telling.  Moreover,  there  is  much  in 
the  island  of  which  no  adequate  description  can  be 
given.  There  is  much  that  must  be  seen  if  it  is  to 
be   fairly   understood    and    appreciated. 


VIII 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA 

'YfN  his  message  to  Congress,  on  December  5,  1898, 
President  McKinley  declared  that  "the  new  Cuba 
yet  to  arise  from  the  ashes  of  the  past  must  needs 
be  bound  to  us  by  ties  of  singular  intimacy  and 
strength   if  its   enduring  welfare  is   to  be   assured." 

Probably  to  many  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  the  story  of  our  relations  with  Cuba  had  its 
beginning  with  the  Spanish-American  war.  That 
is  quite  like  a  notion  that  the  history  of  an  apple 
begins  with  its  separation  from  the  tree  on  which 
it  grew.  The  general  history  of  the  island  is  reviewed 
in  other  chapters  in  this  volum.e.  The  story  of  our 
adlive  relations  with  Cuba  and  its  affairs  runs  back 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  at  least  to  the  days 
of  President  Thomas  Jefferson  who,  in  1808,  wrote 
thus  to  Albert  Gallatin:  "I  shall  sincerely  lament 
Cuba's  falling  into  any  other  hands  but  those  of  its 
present  owners.''  Several  other  references  to  the 
island  appear  at  about  that  time.  Two  great  move- 
ments were  then  going  on.  Europe  was  in  the 
throes  of  the  Napoleonic  disturbance,  and  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years  both  France  and  England 
schemed,   sometimes   openly   and  sometimes   secretly, 


THE  UNITED   STATES  AND  CUBA  123 

for  the  possession  of  Cuba.  The  other  movement  was 
the  revolution  in  Spain's  colonies  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  a  movement  that  cost  Spain  all  of 
its  possessions  in  that  area,  with  the  exception  of 
Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  The  influence  of  the  revolu- 
tionary adlivities  naturally  extended  to  Cuba,  but 
it  was  not  until  after  1820  that  matters  became 
dangerously  critical.  From  that  time  until  the  pres- 
ent, the  question  of  Cuba's  political  fate,  and  the 
question  of  our  relations  with  the  island,  form  an 
interesting  and  highly  important  chapter  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  the  history 
of  Cuba. 

In  his  book  on  the  war  with  Spain,  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge  makes  a  statement  that  may  seem  curious 
to  some  and  amazing  to  others.  It  is,  however,  the 
opinion  of  a  competent  and  thoroughly  trained 
student   of  history.     He   writes    thus: 

"The  expulsion  of  Spain  from  the  Antilles  is  merely 
the  last  and  final  step  of  the  inexorable  movement 
in  which  the  United  States  has  been  engaged  for 
nearly  a  century.  By  influence  and  by  example,  or 
more  diredlly,  by  arms  and  by  the  pressure  of  ever- 
advancing  settlements,  the  United  States  drove  Spain 
from  all  her  continental  possessions  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  until  nothing  was  left  to  the  successors 
of  Charles  and  Philip  but  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 
How  did  it  happen  that  this  great  movement  stopped 
when  it  came  to  the  ocean's  edge?  The  movement 
against    Spain    was    at    once    national    and    organic, 


124  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

while  the  pause  on  the  sea-coast  was  artificial  and  in 
contravention  of  the  laws  of  political  evolution  in 
the  Americas.  The  conditions  in  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico  did  not  differ  from  those  which  had  gone  down 
in  ruin  wherever  the  flag  of  Spain  waved  on  the 
mainland.  The  Cubans  desired  freedom,  and  Bolivar 
would  fain  have  gone  to  their  aid.  Mexico  and 
Colombia,  in  1825,  planned  to  invade  the  island,  and 
at  that  time  invasion  was  sure  to  be  successful. 
What  power  stayed  the  oncoming  tide  which  had 
swept  over  a  continent?  Not  Cuban  loyalty,  for 
the  expression  *  Faithful  Cuba'  was  a  lie  from  the 
beginning.  The  power  which  prevented  the  Hbera- 
tion  of  Cuba  was  the  United  States,  and  more  than 
seventy  years  later  this  republic  has  had  to  fight  a 
war  because  at  the  appointed  time  she  set  herself 
against  her  own  teachings,  and  brought  to  a  halt 
the  movement  she  had  herself  started  to  free  the 
New  World  from  the  oppression  of  the  Old.  The 
United  States  held  back  Mexico  and  Colombia  and 
Bolivar,  used  her  influence  at  home  and  abroad  to 
that  end,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  contemporary  man- 
kind, succeeded,  according  to  her  desires,  in  keeping 
Cuba   under   the   dominion   of  Spain." 

For  a  number  of  years,  Cuba's  destiny  was  a  sub- 
je(5l  of  the  gravest  concern  in  Washington.  Four 
solutions  presented  themselves;  first,  the  acquisition 
of  Cuba  by  the  United  States;  second,  its  retention 
by  Spain;  third,  its  transfer  to  some  power  other 
than  Spain;    fourth,  its  political  independence.     That 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA  125 

the  issue  was  decided  by  the  United  States  is  shown 
by  all  the  history  of  the  time.  While  other  fadiiors 
had  their  influence  in  the  determination,  it  is  entirely 
clear  that  the  issue  turned  on  the  question  of  slavery. 
In  his  book  on  Cuba  and  International  Relatiojis,  Mr. 
Callahan  summarizes  his  review  of  the  official  pro- 
ceedings by  saying  that  "the  South  did  not  want 
to  see  Cuba  independent  without  slavery,  while  the 
North  did  not  want  to  annex  it  with  slavery."  In 
his  work  on  the  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  in 
America,  Mr.  Henry  Wilson  declares  that  "thus 
clearly  and  unequivocally  did  this  Republic  step 
forth  the  champion  of  slavery,  and  boldly  insist  that 
these  islands  should  remain  under  the  hateful  des- 
potism of  Spain,  rather  than  gain  their  independence 
by  means  that  should  inure  to  the  detriment  of  its 
cherished  system.  Indeed,  it  (the  United  States) 
would  fight  to  fasten  more  securely  the  double  bondage 
on  Cuba  and  the  slave." 

From  this  point  of  view,  unquestionably  corredl, 
it  is  altogether  evident  that  the  United  States  as- 
sumed responsibility  for  Cuba's  welfare,  not  by  the 
intervention  of  1898,  but  by  its  acfts  more  than  seventy 
years  earlier.  The  diplomatic  records  of  those  years 
are  filled  with  communications  regarding  the  island, 
and  it  was  again  and  again  the  subjed:  of  legislation 
or  proposed  legislation.  President  after  President 
dealt  with  it  in  messages  to  Congress.  The  acquisi- 
tion of  the  island,  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  was 
again    and     again    discussed.     Popular    interest    was 


126  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

again  and  again  excited;  the  Spanish  colonial  policy 
was  denounced;  and  the  burdens  and  sufferings  of 
the  Cubans  were  depidled  in  many  harrowing  tales. 
For  the  pohcy  that  led  to  the  imposition  of  a  re- 
straining hand  on  proposals  to  free  Cuba,  in  those 
early  days,  the  people  of  the  United  States  today 
must  blush.  The  independence  movement  in  the 
States  of  Spanish-America  may  be  said  to  have 
had  its  definite  beginning  in  1806,  when  Francisco 
Miranda,  a  Venezuelan,  sailed  from  New  York  with 
three  ships  manned  by  American  filibusters,  although 
the  first  land  battle  was  fought  in  Bolivia,  in  1809, 
and  the  last  was  fought  in  the  same  country,  in 
1825.  But  the  great  wave  swept  from  the  northern 
border  of  Mexico  to  the  southernmost  point  of  Span- 
ish possession.  When  these  States  declared  their 
independence,  they  wrote  into  their  Constitutions 
that  all  men  should  be  free,  that  human  slavery 
should  be  abolished  forever  from  their  soil.  The 
attitude  of  the  United  States  in  the  matter  of  Cuba 
was  determined  by  the  objection  to  the  existence  of 
an  anti-slavery  State  so  near  our  border.  The  expe- 
rience of  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo  was,  of  course, 
clearly  in  mind,  but  the  objection  went  deeper  than 
that.  Those  who  are  interested  may  read  with  profit 
the  debates  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
in  1826,  on  the  subjedl  of  the  despatch  of  delegates 
to  the  so-called  Panama  Congress  of  that  year.  On 
the  whole,  it  is  not  pleasant  reading  from  any  present 
point  of  view. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA  127 

Our  cherished  Monroe  Doc5lrine  was  one  of  the 
fruits  of  this  period,  and  in  the  enunciation  of  that 
poKcy  the  affairs  of  Cuba  were  a  prominent  if  not 
the  dominant  force.  The  language  of  this  dodlrine 
is  said  to  have  been  written  by  Secretary  Adams, 
but  it  is  embodied  in  the  message  of  President  Mon- 
roe, in  December,  1823,  and  so  bears  his  name.  In 
April,  of  that  year.  Secretary  Adams  sent  a  long 
communication  to  Mr.  Nelson,  then  the  American 
Minister  to  Spain.  For  their  bearing  on  the  Cuban 
question,  and  for  the  presentation  of  a  view  that 
runs  through  many  years  of  American  policy,  extradls 
from  that  letter  may  be  included  here. 

Department  of  State, 

Washington,  April  28,  1823. 

"In  the  war  between  France  and  Spain,  now 
commencing,  other  interests,  peculiarly  ours,  will, 
in  all  probability,  be  deeply  involved.  Whatever 
may  be  the  issue  of  this  war,  as  between  these  two 
European  powers,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that 
the  dominion  of  Spain  upon  the  American  continent, 
north  and  south,  is  irrecoverably  gone.  But  the 
islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  still  remain  nominally, 
and  so  far  really,  dependent  upon  her,  that  she  pos- 
sesses the  power  of  transferring  her  own  dominion 
over  them,  together  with  the  possession  of  them,  to 
others.  These  islands,  from  their  local  position  are 
natural  appendages  to  the  North  American  continent, 
and  one  of  them,  Cuba,  almost  in  sight  of  our  shores, 
from   a   multitude  of  considerations,   has   become   an 


128  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

objedl  of  transcendant  importance  to  the  commercial 
and  political  interests  of  our  Union.  Its  commanding 
position,  with  reference  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 
the  West  India  seas;  the  character  of  its  population; 
its  situation  midway  between  our  southern  coast  and 
the  island  of  St.  Domingo;  its  safe  and  capacious 
harbor  of  the  Havana,  fronting  a  long  line  of  our 
shores  destitute  of  the  same  advantage;  the  nature 
of  its  producflions  and  of  its  wants,  furnishing  the 
supplies  and  needing  the  returns  of  a  commerce 
immensely  profitable  and  mutually  beneficial,  —  give 
it  an  importance  in  the  sum  of  our  national  interests 
with  which  that  of  no  other  foreign  territory  can  be 
compared,  and  little  inferior  to  that  which  binds  the 
different  members  of  this  Union  together.  Such, 
indeed,  are  the  interests  of  that  island  and  of  this 
country,  the  geographical,  commercial,  moral,  and 
political  relations,  that,  in  looking  forward  to  the 
probable  course  of  events,  for  the  short  period  of 
half  a  century,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  resist  the 
conviction  that  the  annexation  of  Cuba  to  our  federal 
republic  will  be  indispensable  to  the  continuance 
and  integrity  of  the  Union  itself." 

The  communication  proceeds  to  relate  the  knowledge 
of  the  Department  that  both  Great  Britain  and 
France  were  desirous  of  securing  possession  and  con- 
trol of  the  island,  and  to  disclaim,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  all  disposition  to  obtain  possession 
of  either    Cuba   or    Porto    Rico.     The    complications 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA         129 

of  the  situation  became  increasingly  serious,  more 
particularly  with  regard  to  Cuba,  and  on  December 
2,  of  that  year  (1823),  President  Monroe  issued  his 
message  carrying  the  "dodlrine,"  which  may  be 
given    thus : 

*'In  the  wars  of  the  European  powers  in  matters 
relating  to  themselves  we  have  never  taken  any 
part,  nor  does  it  comport  with  our  policy  to  do  so. 
It  is  only  when  our  rights  are  invaded  or  seriously 
menaced  that  we  resent  injuries  or  make  preparations 
for  our  defense.  With  the  movements  in  this  hemi- 
sphere we  are  of  necessity  more  immediately  con- 
neded.  We  owe  it,  therefore,  to  candor  and  to  the 
amicable  relations  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  those  powers  (of  Europe)  to  declare  that  we  should 
consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their 
system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  danger- 
ous to  our  peace  and  safety.  With  the  existing 
colonies  or  dependencies  of  any  European  power 
we  have  not  interfered  and  shall  not  interfere.  But 
with  the  Governments  that  have  declared  their 
independence  and  maintained  it,  and  whose  inde- 
pendence we  have  recognized,  we  could  not  view  any 
interposition  for  the  purpose  of  oppressing  them,  or 
controlling  in  any  other  manner  their  destiny,  by 
any  European  power  in  any  other  light  than  as  the 
manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposition  toward 
the  United  States.'* 

From  this  time  onward,  Cuba  appears  as  an  almost 
continuous  objecfl  of  special  interest  to  both  the  people 


130  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  the  officials  of  the  United  States.  Notwith- 
standing this  disclaimer  of  President  Monroe's  mes- 
sage, the  idea  of  the  acquisition  of  the  island,  by  the 
United  States,  soon  arose.  It  persisted  through  all 
the  years  down  to  the  time  of  the  Teller  amendment, 
in  1898,  and  there  are  many  who  even  now  regard 
annexation  as  inevitable  at  some  future  time,  more 
or  less  distant.  The  plan  appears  as  a  suggestion 
in  a  communication,  under  date  of  November  30, 
1825,  from  Alexander  H.  Everett,  then  Minister  to 
Madrid,  to  President  Adams.  It  crops  up  repeatedly 
in  various  quarters  in  later  years.  It  would  be  a 
difficult  and  tedious  undertaking  to  chase  through 
all  the  diplomatic  records  of  seventy  years  the 
references   to   Cuba   and   its   affairs. 

From  that  period  until  the  present  time,  the  af- 
fairs of  the  island  have  been  a  matter  of  constant 
interest  and  frequent  anxiety  in  Washington.  Fear 
of  British  acquisition  of  the  island  appears  to  have 
subsided  about  i860,  but  there  were  in  the  island  two 
groups,  both  relatively  small,  one  of  them  working 
for  independence,  and  the  other  for  annexation  to  the 
United  States.  The  great  majority,  however,  desired 
some  fair  measure  of  self-government,  and  relief 
from  economic  and  financial  burdens,  under  the  Span- 
ish flag.  The  purchase  of  the  island  by  the  United 
States  was  proposed  by  President  Polk,  in  1848; 
by  President  Pierce,  in  1854;  and  by  President 
Buchanan,  in  his  time.  Crises  appeared  from  time 
to  time.     Among  them  was  the  incident  of  the  Black 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA         131 

Warrior y    in    1854.     Mr.    Rhodes    thus    describes    the 
affair,   in  his   History   of  the   United  States: 

*'The  Black  Warrior  was  an  American  merchant 
steamer,  plying  between  Mobile  and  New  York,  stop- 
ping at  Havana  for  passengers  and  mail.  She  had 
made  thirty-six  such  voyages,  almost  always  having 
a  cargo  for  the  American  port,  and  never  being  per- 
mitted to  bring  freight  into  Havana.  The  custom 
of  her  agent  was  to  clear  her  Sn  ballast'  the  day 
before  her  arrival.  The  pracflice,  while  contrary  to 
the  regulations  of  Cuban  ports,  had  always  been 
winked  at  by  the  authorities.  It  was  well  under- 
stood that  the  Black  Warrior  generally  had  a  cargo 
aboard,  but  a  detailed  manifest  of  her  load  had  never 
been  required.  She  had  always  been  permitted  to 
sail  unmolested  until,  when  bound  from  Mobile  to 
New  York,  she  was  stopped  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1854,  by  order  of  the  royal  exchequer,  for  having 
violated  the  regulations  of  the  port.  The  agent, 
finding  that  the  cause  of  this  proceeding  was  the 
failure  to  manifest  the  cargo  'in  transit,'  offered  to 
amend  the  manifest,  which  under  the  rules  he  had 
a  right  to  do;  but  this  the  colled:or,  on  a  flimsy 
pretext,  refused  to  permit.  The  agent  was  at  the 
same  time  informed  that  the  cargo  was  confiscated 
and  the  captain  fined,  in  pursuance  of  the  custom- 
house regulations.  The  cargo  was  cotton,  valued  at 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars;  and  the  captain  was 
fined  six  thousand  dollars.  The  United  States  consul 
applied    to    the    captain-general    for    redress,    but    no 


132  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

satisfacflion  was  obtained.  A  gang  of  men  with 
lighters  were  sent  to  the  ship  under  the  charge  of  the 
commandante,  who  ordered  the  captain  of  the  Black 
Warrior  to  discharge  her  cargo.  This  he  refused 
to  do.  The  commandante  then  had  the  hatches 
opened,  and  his  men  began  to  take  out  the  bales  of 
cotton.  The  captain  hauled  down  his  flag  and 
abandoned    the    vessel    to    the    Spanish    authorities." 

The  news  of  the  incident  created  great  excitement 
in  Washington.  President  Pierce  sent  a  message 
to  Congress,  stating  that  demand  had  been  made 
on  Spain  for  indemnity,  and  suggesting  provisional 
legislation  that  would  enable  him,  if  negotiations 
failed,  "to  insure  the  observance  of  our  just  rights, 
to  obtain  redress  for  injuries  received,  and  to  vindi- 
cate the  honor  of  our  flag." 

Mr.  Soule,  then  the  American  Minister  to  Madrid, 
was  the  official  through  whom  the  negotiations  were 
conducted.  He  was  a  man  of  somewhat  impetuous 
temperament,  and  an  ardent  advocate  of  Cuba's 
annexation.  He  quite  overstepped  both  the  bounds 
of  propriety  and  of  his  authority  in  his  submission, 
under  instrucflions,  of  a  demand  for  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars  indemnity.  This,  and  Spanish  dip- 
lomatic methods,  led  to  delay,  and  the  excitement 
died  out.  In  the  meantime,  Spain  released  the  vessel 
and  its  cargo,  disavowed  and  disapproved  the  con- 
dud  of  the  local  officials,  paid  the  indemnity  claimed 
by  the  owners  of  the  vessel,  and  the  ship  resumed 
its   regular  trips,   being   treated   with   every  courtesy 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA         133 

when  visiting  Havana.  But  the  incident  gave  rise 
to  ac5tive  discussion,  and  for  a  time  threatened  serious 
results.  It  followed  on  the  heels  of  another  experi- 
ence, the  Lopez  expeditions,  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  another  chapter,  and  came  at  a  time  when 
Cuba  and  Cuban  affairs  were  topics  of  a  lively  public 
interest.  The  subjedl  of  acquisition  was  under  general 
public  discussion  and  occupied  a  large  share  of  public 
attention.  Some  wanted  war  with  Spain,  and  others 
proposed  the  purchase  of  the  island  from  Spain. 
But  the  immediate  cause  of  complaint  having  been 
removed  by  the  release  of  the  ship,  Soule  was  in- 
strucled  to  take  no  further  steps  in  the  matter,  and 
the   excitement   gradually   passed    away. 

Immediately  following  this  experience,  and  growing 
out  of  it,  came  the  incident  of  the  "Ostend  Manifesto." 
At  that  time,  James  Buchanan  was  Minister  to  Eng- 
land. John  Y.  Mason  was  Minister  to  France,  and 
Pierre  Soule  was  Minister  to  Spain.  Secretary  of 
State  Marcy  suggested  a  conference  between  these 
three  officials.  They  met  at  Ostend,  but  afterward 
transferred  their  deliberations  to  Aix  la  Chapelle. 
The  meeting  attradled  general  attention  in  Europe. 
The  result  of  what  they  reported  as  "a  full  and 
unreserved  interchange  of  views  and  sentiments," 
was  a  recommendation  that  an  earnest  effort  be  made 
immediately  to  purchase  Cuba.  They  were  of  opinion 
that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  million 
dollars  be  offered.  The  report  proceeded  thus: 
"After  we  shall  have  offered  Spain  a  price  for  Cuba 


134  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

far  beyond  its  present  value,  and  this  shall  have 
been  refused,  it  will  then  be  time  to  consider  the 
question,  does  Cuba  in  the  possession  of  Spain  seri- 
ously endanger  our  internal  peace  and  the  existence 
of  our  cherished  Union?  Should  this  question  be 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  then,  by  every  law, 
human  and  divine,  we  shall  be  justified  in  wresting 
it  from  Spain  if  we  possess  the  power;  and  this  upon 
the  very  same  principle  that  would  justify  an  indi- 
vidual in  tearing  down  the  burning  house  of  his  neigh- 
bor if  there  were  no  other  means  of  preventing  the 
flame  from  destroying  his  own  home."  It  is  evident 
that  Soule  dominated  the  meeting,  and  only  less 
evident  that  he,  in  some  way,  cajoled  his  associates 
into  signing  the  report.  No  adlion  was  taken  on 
the  matter  by  the  Administration,  and  the  incident 
has  passed  into  history  somewhat,  perhaps,  as  one 
of  the  curiosities  of  diplomacy.  At  all  events,  all 
historians  note  it,  and  some  give  it  considerable 
attention. 

The  next  serious  complication  arose  out  of  the 
Ten  Years'  War,  in  Cuba,  in  1868,  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  a  chapter  on  Cuba's  revolutions.  Spain's 
leaders  seemed  quite  incapable  of  grasping  the  Cu- 
ban situation,  of  seeing  it  in  its  proper  light.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that,  even  then,  the  Cubans 
would  have  remained  loyal  if  the  Spanish  authorities 
had  paid  attention  to  their  just  and  reasonable  de- 
mands. As  stated  by  Mr.  Pepper,  in  his  Tomorrow 
in   Cuba,   "The  machete   and   the   torch  then  gained 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA         135 

what  peaceful  agitation  had  not  been  able  to  achieve." 
The  demands  of  the  Cubans  are  thus  stated  by 
Sefior  Cabrera,  in  his  Cuba  and  the  Cubans:  "A 
constitutional  system  in  place  of  the  autocracy  of  the 
Captain-General,  freedom  of  the  press,  the  right  of 
petition,  cessation  of  the  exclusion  of  Cubans  from 
public  office,  unrestricfted  industrial  liberty,  abolition 
of  restrictions  on  the  transfer  of  landed  property, 
the  right  of  assembly  and  of  association,  representa- 
tion in  the  Cortes,  and  local  self-government,"  all 
reasonable  and  just  demands  from  every  point  of 
view  of  modern  civilization.  Spain  refused  all,  and 
on  Odober  10,  1868,  an  adlual  revolution  began,  the 
first  in  the  history  of  the  island  to  be  properly  classed 
as  a  revolution.  The  United  States  soon  became 
concerned  and  involved.  In  his  message  to  Con- 
gress on  December  6,  1869,  President  Grant  said: 
*'For  more  than  a  year,  a  valuable  province  of 
Spain,  and  a  near  neighbor  of  ours,  in  whom  all  our 
people  cannot  but  feel  a  deep  interest,  has  been 
struggling  for  independence  and  freedom.  The  people 
and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  entertain 
the  same  warm  feelings  and  sympathies  for  the 
people  of  Cuba  in  their  pending  struggle  that  they 
have  manifested  throughout  the  previous  struggles 
between  Spain  and  her  former  colonies  (Mexico, 
Central  America  and  South  America)  in  behalf  of 
the  latter.  But  the  contest  has  at  no  time  assumed 
the  conditions  which  amount  to  a  war  in  the  sense 
of   international    law,  or    which  would  show  the  ex- 


136  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

istence  of  a  de  fado  political  organization  of  the 
insurgents  sufficient  to  justify  a  recognition  of  bellig- 
erency." On  June  13,  1870,  President  Grant  sent 
a  special  message  to  Congress,  in  which  he  reviewed 
the  Cuban  situation.  Another  reference  appears  in 
his  message  of  December  5,  1870.  In  his  message 
of  December  4,  1871,  he  stated  that  "it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  island 
of  Cuba  continues  to  be  a  source  of  annoyance  and 
anxiety.  The  existence  of  a  protracted  struggle  in 
such  close  proximity  to  our  own  territory,  without 
apparent  prospedl  of  an  early  termination,  cannot 
be  other  than  an  objedl  of  concern  to  a  people  who, 
while  abstaining  from  interference  in  the  affairs  of 
other  powers,  naturally  desire  to  see  every  other 
country  in  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  peace, 
liberty,  and  the  blessings  of  free  institutions."  In 
the  message  of  December  2,  1872,  he  said:  "It  is 
with  regret  that  I  have  again  to  announce  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  disturbed  condition  in  the  island  of 
Cuba.  The  contest  has  now  lasted  for  more  than 
four  years.  Were  its  scene  at  a  distance  from  our 
neighborhood,  we  might  be  indifferent  to  its  result, 
although  humanity  could  not  be  unmoved  by  many 
of  its  incidents  wherever  they  might  occur.  It  is, 
however,  at  out  door."  Reference  was  made  to  it 
in  all  following  annual  messages,  until  President 
Hayes,  in  1878,  announced  its  termination,  ten  years 
after  its  beginning.  The  contest  had  become  prac- 
tically  a  deadlock,   and   a  compromise  was   arranged 


'    .-.  ^       i  J . 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA  137 

by  General  Maximo  Gomez,  for  the  Cubans,  and 
General  Martinez  Campos,   for  Spain. 

The  entanglements  that  grew  out  of  the  experiences 
of  this  period  are  too  long  and  too  complicated  for 
detailed  review  here.  This  country  had  no  desire 
for  war  with  Spain,  but  approval  of  the  Spanish 
policy  in  Cuba  was  impossible.  The  sympathies  of 
the  A.merican  people  were  with  the  Cubans,  as  they 
had  been  for  fifty  years,  and  as  they  continued  to  be 
until  the  end  of  Spanish  occupation  in  the  West 
Indies.  Rumors  of  all  kinds  were  afloat,  and  again 
and  again  the  situation  seemed  to  have  reached  a 
crisis  that  could  be  ended  only  by  war.  A  particu- 
larly aggravating  incident  appeared  in  what  is  known 
as  the  Firginius  case.  This  was  described  as  fol- 
lows, in  President  Grant's  message  to  Congress  on 
December  i,   1873. 

"The  steamer  Firginius  was  on  the  26th  day  of 
September,  1870,  duly  registered  at  the  port  of  New 
York  as  a  part  of  the  commercial  marine  of  the 
United  States.  On  the  4th  of  Odober,  1870,  having 
received  the  certificate  of  her  register  in  the  usual 
legal  form,  she  sailed  from  the  port  of  New  York, 
and  has  not  since  been  within  the  territorial  juris- 
didlion  of  the  United  States.  On  the  31st  day  of 
Odlober  last  (1873),  while  sailing  under  the  flag  of 
the  United  States  on  the  high  seas,  she  was  forcibly 
seized  by  the  Spanish  gunboat  Tornado^  and  was 
carried  into  the  port  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  where 
fifty-three  of  her  passengers  and  crew  were  inhumanly, 


138  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and,  so  far  at  least  as  related  to  those  who  were 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  without  due  process 
of  law,   put   to   death." 

Only  for  the  timely  arrival  of  the  British  man-of- 
war  Niobe,  and  the  prompt  and  decisive  acflion  of 
her  commander,  there  is  no  doubt  that  ninety-three 
others  would  have  shared  the  fate  of  their  com- 
panions. Some  were  Americans  and  some  were 
British.  The  excitement  in  this  country  was  intense, 
and  war  with  Spain  was  widely  demanded.  Further 
investigation  revealed  the  fadl  that  the  American 
registry  was  dishonest,  that  the  ship  really  belonged 
to  or  was  chartered  by  Cubans,  that  it  was  engaged 
in  carrying  supplies  and  munitions  of  war  to  the 
insurgents,  and  that  its  right  to  fly  the  American 
flag  was  more  than  doubtful.  The  ship  was  seized 
by  the  American  authorities  under  a  charge  of  viola- 
tion of  the  maritime  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
was  ordered  to  New  York,  for  a  trial  of  the  case. 
American  naval  officers  were  placed  in  command,  but 
she  was  in  bad  condition,  and  foundered  in  a  gale 
near  Cape  Fear.  As  far  as  the  vessel  was  concerned, 
the  incident  was  closed.  There  remained  the  ques- 
tion of  indemnity  for  what  Caleb  Cushing,  then  the 
American  Minister  to  Spain,  in  his  communication 
to  the  Spanish  authorities,  denounced  as  "a  dread- 
ful, a  savage  adl,  the  inhuman  slaughter  in  cold 
blood,  of  fifty-three  human  beings,  a  large  num- 
ber of  them  citizens  of  the  United  States,  shot  with- 
out   lawful    trial,    without    any    valid    pretension    of 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA         139 

authority,  and  to  the  horror  of  the  whole  civilized 
world."  England  also  filed  its  claim  for  the  loss  of 
British  subjects,  and  payment  was  soon  after  made 
**for  the  purpose  of  reHef  of  the  families  or  persons 
of  the  ship's  company  and  passengers."  In  his 
Cuba  and  International  Relations,  Mr.  Callahan  says: 
"The  catalogue  of  irritating  affairs  in  relation  to 
Cuba,  of  which  the  Virginius  was  only  the  culmi- 
nation, might  have  been  urged  as  sufficient  to  justify 
a  policy  of  intervention  to  stop  the  stubborn  war  of 
extermination  which  had  been  tolerated  by  peaceful 
neighbors  for  five  years.  Some  would  have  been 
ready  to  advocate  intervention  as  a  duty.  The 
relations  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States,  the  Spanish 
commercial  restridlions  which  placed  Cuba  at  the 
mercy  of  Spanish  monopoHsts,  and  the  chara(5ler 
of  the  Spanish  rule,  pointed  to  the  conclusion  that 
if  Spain  should  not  voluntarily  grant  reforms  and 
guarantee  pacification  of  the  island,  the  United  States 
might  be  compelled,  especially  for  future  security, 
temporarily  to  occupy  it  and  assist  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  liberal  government  based  upon  modern 
views.  Such  adlion  might  have  led  to  annexation, 
but  not  necessarily;  it  might  have  led  to  a  restoration 
of  Spanish  possession  under  restridlions  as  to  the 
character  of  Spanish  rule,  and  as  to  the  size  of  the 
Spanish  army  and  naval  force  in  the  vicinity;  more 
likely  it  would  have  resulted  in  the  independence  of 
Cuba   under  American   protedlion." 

These   are  only  some  of  the   more  prominent  fea- 


140  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

tures  in  fifty  years  of  American  interest  in  Cuba. 
Throughout  the  entire  period,  the  sympathies  of  the 
American  people  were  strongly  pro-Cuban.  Money 
and  suppHes  were  contributed  from  time  to  time  to 
assist  the  Cubans  in  their  efforts  to  effed:  a  change 
in  their  conditions,  either  through  modification  of 
Spanish  laws,  or  by  the  road  of  independence.  Only 
a  minority  of  the  Cubans  sought  to  follow  that  road 
at  that  time.  The  movement  for  independence  was 
not  national  until  it  was  made  so  in  1895.  What 
would  have  happened  had  we,  at  the  time  of  the 
Ten  Years'  War,  granted  to  the  Cubans  the  rights 
of  belligerents,  is  altogether  a  matter  of  speculation. 
Such  a  course  was  then  deemed  politically  inexpe- 
dient. 


IX 

CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS 

NLY  by  magnifying  protests  into  revolts, 
and  riots  into  revolutions,  is  it  possible  to 
show  Cuba  as  the  "land  of  revolutions" 
that  many  have  declared  it  to  be.  The  truth  is 
that  from  the  settlement  of  the  island  in  1512  until 
the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1898,  there  were 
only  two  experiences  that  can,  by  any  proper  use  of 
the  term,  be  called  revolutions.  This  statement,  of 
course,  disputes  a  widely  accepted  notion,  but  many 
notions  become  widely  accepted  because  of  assertions 
that  are  not  contradicfted.  That  a  strong  under- 
current of  discontent  runs  through  all  Cuba's  history 
from  1820  to  1895,  is  true.  That  there  were  numer- 
ous manifestations  of  that  discontent,  and  occasional 
attempts  at  revolution,  is  also  true.  But  none  of 
these  experiences,  prior  to  1868,  reached  a  stage  that 
would  properly  warrant  its  description  as  a  revolution. 
The  term  is  very  loosely  applied  to  a  wide  range  of 
experiences.  It  is  customary  to  class  as  revolution 
all  disorders  from  riots  to  rebellions.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case  where  the  disorder  occurs  in  some 
country  other  than  our  own.  The  Standard  Didionary 
defines  the  essential  idea  of  revolution  as  "a  change 


142  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

in  the  form  of  government,   or  the  constitution,   or 
rulers,    otherwise   than    as    provided    by   the   laws    of 
succession,    election,    etc."  .  The    Century    Didionary 
defines    such    proceedings    as    "a    radical    change    in 
social  or  governmental  conditions;    the  overthrow  of 
an   established   political   system."     Many   exceedingly 
interesting  parallels   may  be  drawn  between  the  ex- 
perience   of    the    American    colonies    prior    to    their 
revolution,    in    1775,    and    the    experience    of    Cuba 
during  the    19th   Century.     In   fadl,   it   may   perhaps 
be  said  that  there  is  no  experience  in  Cuba's  history 
that  cannot  be  fairly  paralleled  in  our  own.     In  his 
History   of  the   United  States,   Mr.    Edward   Channing 
says:     "The    governing    classes    of   the    old    country 
wished  to  exploit  the  American  colonists  for  their  own 
use    and    behoof."     Change    the    word    "American" 
to    "Spanish,"    and    the    Cuban    situation    is    exactly 
defined.     The  situation  in  America  in  the  i8th  Cen- 
tury was  almost  identical  with  the  situation  in  Cuba 
in    the     19th     Century.     Both,     in    those    respedlive 
periods,     suffered     from     oppressive     and     restridlive 
trade  laws  and  from  burdensome  taxation,  from  sub- 
ordination  of  their   interests   to   the   interests   of  the 
people    of    a    mother-country    three    thousand    miles 
away.     Unfortunately    for    the    Cubans,    Spain    was 
better    able    to    enforce    its    exactions    than    England 
was.     Cuba's  area  was  limited,   its   available  harbors 
few  in  number,   its   population  small. 

Not    until    the    years    immediately    preceding    the 
revolutions   by   which   the   United    States    and    Cuba 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  143 

secured    their    independence,   was    there    any   general 
demand    for    definite    separation    from    the    mother- 
country.     The   desire   in   both  was    a    fuller   measure 
of  economic  and  commercial  opportunity.     One  strik- 
ing parallel  may  be  noted.     The  Tories,  or  "loyalists," 
in  this  country  have  their  counterpart  in  the  Cuban 
Autonomistas.     Referring  to  conditions   in   1763,   Mr. 
Channing  states  that  "never  had  the  colonists  felt  a 
greater    pride    in    their    connection    with    the    British 
empire."     Among   the  great   figures   of  the   pre-revo- 
lutionary  period  in  this  country,  none  stands  out  more 
clearly    than    James    Otis,    of    Boston,    and    Patrick 
Henry,    of  Virginia.     In   an   impassioned    address,    in 
1763,    Otis    declared    that    "every    British    subjedl   in 
America  is  of  common  right,  by  adls  of  Parliament, 
and  by  the  laws  of  God  and  nature,  entitled  to  all  the 
essential    privileges    of    Britons.     What    God    in    his 
Providence   has    united   let  no  man  dare  attempt  to 
pull    asunder."     Thirteen   years    later,    the   sundering 
blow    was  struck.      Patrick    Henry's   resolutions   sub- 
mitted to  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  in    1765, 
set   that    colony    afire,  but    at   that    time  neither   he 
nor  his  associates  desired  separation  and  independence 
if  their  natural   rights  were   recognized.     It  was   not 
until   the  revolution  of   1895   that    the   independence 
of   Cuba    became    a    national    demand,    a    movement 
based    on    realization   of  the    hopelessness    of  further 
dependence  upon  Spain  for  the  desired  economic  and 
fiscal    relief.     As    in    the    American    colonies    there 
appeared,  from  time  to  time,  individuals  or  isolated 


144  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

groups  who  demanded  drastic  adion  on  the  part  of 
the  colonists,  so  were  there  Cubans  who,  from  time 
to  time,  appeared  with  similar  demands.  Nathaniel 
Bacon  headed  a  formidable  revolution  in  Virginia 
in  1676.  Massachusetts  rebelled  against  Andros 
and  Dudley  in  1689.  From  the  passage  of  the  Navi- 
gation Ac5ls,  in  the  middle  of  the  17th  Century, 
until  the  culmination  in  1775,  there  was  an  under- 
current of  fridlion  and  a  succession  of  protests.  The 
Cuban  condition  was  quite  the  same  excepting  the 
fa(5l  of  burdens  more  grievous  and  more  frequent 
open  outbreaks. 

The  records  of  many  of  the  disorders  are  frag- 
mentary. Spain  had  no  desire  to  give  them  pub- 
licity, and  the  Cubans  had  few  means  for  doing  so. 
The  Report  on  the  Census  of  Cuba,  prepared  by  the 
War  Department  of  the  United  States,  in  1899, 
contains  a  summary  of  the  various  disorders  in  the 
island.  The  first  is  the  rioting  in  1717,  when  Captain- 
General  Roja  enforced  the  decree  establishing  a 
government  monopoly  in  tobacco.  The  disturbances 
in  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo  (1791-1800)  resulting 
in  the  establishment  of  independence  in  Haiti,  under 
Toussaint,  excited  unimportant  uprisings  on  the  part 
of  negroes  in  Cuba,  but  they  were  quickly  sup- 
pressed. The  first  movement  worthy  of  note  came 
in  1823.  It  was  a  consequence  of  the  general  move- 
ment that  extended  throughout  Spanish-America 
and  resulted  in  the  independence  of  all  Spain's  former 
colonies,  excepting  Cuba  and   Porto  Rico.     That  the 


CUBA'S   REVOLUTIONS  145 

influence  of  so  vast  a  movement  should  have  been 
felt  in  Cuba  was  almost  inevitable.  As  disorder 
continued  throughout  much  of  the  time,  the  period 
1 820-1 830  is  best  considered  collecflively.  The  same 
influences  were  adlive,  and  the  same  forces  were 
operative  for  the  greater  part  of  the  term.  The 
accounts  of  it  all  are  greatly  confused,  and  several 
nations  were  involved,  including  Spain,  the  United 
States,  France,  England,  Mexico,  and  Colombia. 
The  slavery  question  was  involved,  as  was  the  ques- 
tion of  the  transfer  of  the  island  to  some  Power 
other  than  Spain.  Independence  was  the  aim  of 
some,  though  probably  no  very  great  number.  Prac- 
tically all  of  Cuba's  later  experiences  have  their 
roots  in  this  period.  During  these  ten  years,  the 
issue  between  Cubans  who  sought  a  larger  national 
and  economic  life,  and  the  Spanish  element  that 
insisted  upon  the  continuance  of  Spanish  absolu- 
tism, had  its  definite  beginning,  to  remain  a  cause 
of  almost  constant  fridlion  for  three-quarters  of  a 
century.  The  Spanish  Constitution  of  1812,  abro- 
gated in  1 8 14,  was  again  proclaimed  in  1820,  and 
again  abrogated  in  1823.  The  eff'ort  of  Captain- 
General  Vives,  adling  under  orders  from  Ferdinand 
VII,  to  restore  absolutism  encountered  both  vigorous 
opposition  and  strong  support.  Secret  societies  were 
organized,  whose  exadl  purposes  do  not  appear  to 
be  well  known.  Some  have  asserted  that  it  was  a 
Masonic  movement,  while  others  have  held  that  the 
organizations   were   more   in   the   nature   of  the   Car- 


146  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

honari.  One  of  them,  called  the  Soles  de  Bolivar, 
in  some  way  gave  its  name  to  the  immediate  acftivities. 
It  was  charged  with  having  planned  a  rebellion  against 
the  government,  but  the  plans  were  discovered  and 
the  leaders  were  arrested.  The  movement  appears 
to  have  been  widespread,  with  its  headquarters  in 
Matanzas.  An  uprising  was  planned  to  take  place 
on  August  i6,  1823,  but  on  that  day  Jose  Francisco 
Lemus,  the  leader,  and  a  number  of  his  associates 
were  arrested  and  imprisoned.  Among  them  was 
Jose  Maria  Heredia,  the  Cuban  poet,  who  was,  for 
this  offence,  condemned,  in  1824,  to  perpetual  exile 
for  the  crime  of  treason. 

Others  engaged  in  the  conspiracy  fled  the  country. 
Some  were  officially  deported.  But  the  punishments 
imposed  on  these  people  served  to  excite  the  ani- 
mosity of  many  more,  and  a  period  of  agitation  fol- 
lowed, marked  by  occasional  outbreaks  and  rioting. 
To  meet  the  situation,  an  army  intended  to  be 
employed  in  reconquering  some  of  the  colonies  that 
had  already  declared  and  established  their  inde- 
pendence, was  retained  on  the  island.  In  1825, 
a  royal  decree  conferred  on  the  Spanish  Governor 
in  Cuba  a  power  pradically  absolute.  This  excited 
still  further  the  anger  of  the  Cuban  element  and  led 
to  other  manifestations  of  discontent.  There  was  a 
combination  of, political  agitation  with  revolutionary 
demonstrations.  In  1826,  there  was  a  local  uprising 
in  Puerto  Principe,  directed  more  particularly  against 
the  Spanish  garrison,  whose  condudl  was  regarded  as 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  147 

highly  offensive.  A  year  or  two  later,  Cuban  exiles  in 
Mexico  and  Colombia,  with  support  from  the  people 
of  those  countries,  organized  a  secret  society  known 
as  the  "Black  Eagle,"  having  for  its  purpose  a  Cuban 
revolution.  Its  headquarters  were  in  Mexico,  and 
its  activities  were  fruitless.  Many  were  arrested 
and  tried  and  sentenced  to  death  or  deportation. 
But  Vives  realized  the  folly  of  adding  more  fuel  to 
the  flames,  and  the  sentences  were  in  all  cases  either 
mitigated  or  revoked.  This  seems  to  have  brought 
that  particular  series  of  conspiracies  to  an  end.  It 
was  a  time  of  active  political  agitation  and  conspiracy, 
with  occasional  local  riots  that  were  quickly  sup- 
pressed. While  much  of  it  was  revolutionary  in 
its  aims  and  purposes,  none  of  it  may  with  any 
fitness  be  called  a  revolution,  unless  a  prevalence  of 
a  lively  spirit  of  opposition  and  rebellion  is  to  be  so 
classed.  The  agitation  settled  down  for  a  number 
of  years,  but  broke  out  in  local  spasms  occasionally. 
There  were  riots  and  disorders,  but  that  is  not 
revolution.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  cause 
of  all  this  disturbance  was,  in  the  main,  an  entirely 
creditable  sentiment,  quite  as  creditable  as  that 
which  led  the  American  colonists  to  resist  the  Stamp 
taxes  and  to  destroy  tea.  It  was  a  natural  and 
righteous  protest  against  oppression,  a  movement 
lasting  for  seventy-five  years,  for  which  Americans, 
particularly,  should  award  praise  rather  than  blame 
or  carping  criticism.  Having  done,  in  our  own  way, 
very  much  what  the  Cubans  have  done,  in  their  way. 


148  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

we  are  not  free  to  condemn  them.  The  only  real 
difference  is  that  their  methods  were,  on  the  whole, 
a  little  more  strenuous  than  ours.  Cuban  blood 
was  stirred  by  the  successful  revolutions  in  Mexico 
and  in  Spanish  South  America,  and  conditions  in  the 
island  were  contrasted  with  those  in  the  then  some- 
what new  United  States.  Something  of  the  part 
played  by  this  country  in  the  experiences  of  the 
time  is  presented  in  another  chapter,  on  the  relations 
of  the  two  countries. 

The  next  movement  worthy  of  note  came  in  1849, 
if  we  omit  the  quarrel,  in  1837,  between  General 
Tacon  and  his  subordinate.  General  Lorenzo,  and 
the  alleged  proposal  of  the  slaves  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Matanzas  to  rise  and  slaughter  all  the  whites. 
Neither  of  these  quite  belongs  in  the  revolutionary 
class.  In  1847,  a  conspiracy  was  organized  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cienfuegos.  Its  leader  was  General 
Narciso  Lopez.  The  movement  was  discovered,  and 
some  of  the  participants  were  imprisoned.  Lopez 
escaped  to  the  United  States  where  he  associated 
himself  with  a  group  of  Cuban  exiles,  and  opened 
correspondence  with  sympathizers  in  the  island. 
They  were  joined  by  a  considerable  number  of  ad- 
venturous Americans,  inspired  by  a  variety  of  mo- 
tives. The  declared  purpose  of  the  enterprise  was 
independence  as  the  alternative  of  reform  in  Spanish 
laws.  An  expedition  was  organized,  but  the  plans 
became  known  and  President  Taylor,  on  August  11, 
1849,    issued    a    proclamation    in    which    he    declared 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  149 

that  "an  enterprise  to  invade  the  territories  of  a 
friendly  nation,  set  on  foot  and  prosecuted  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  is  in  the  highest 
degree  criminal."  He  therefore  warned  all  citizens 
of  the  United  States  who  might  participate  in  such 
an  enterprise  that  they  would  be  subjecfl;  to  heavy 
penalties,  and  would  forfeit  the  proted:ion  of  their 
country.  He  also  called  on  "every  officer  of  this 
Government,  civil  or  military,  to  use  all  efforts  in 
his  power  to  arrest  for  trial  and  punishment  every 
such  offender  against  the  laws."  The  party  was 
captured  as  it  was  leaving  New  York.  The  best 
evidence  of  the  time  is  to  the  effed:  that  there  was  in 
Cuba  neither  demand  for  nor  support  of  such  a  move- 
ment, but  Lopez  and  his  associates,  many  of  them 
Americans,  persisted.  A  second  expedition  was  ar- 
ranged, and  a  party  of  more  than  six  hundred  men, 
many  of  them  American  citizens,  assembled  on  the 
island  of  Contoy,  off  the  Yucatan  coast,  and  on  May 
19,  1850,  landed  at  Cardenas.  But  there  was  no 
uprising  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The  Spanish 
authorities,  informed  of  the  expedition,  sent  ships 
by  sea  and  troops  by  land.  After  a  sharp  skirmish, 
the  invaders  fled  for  their  lives.  Lopez  and  those  who 
escaped  with  him  succeeded  in  reaching  Key  West. 
He  went  to  Savannah,  where  he  was  arrested  but 
promptly  liberated  in  response  to  public  clamor. 
But  even  this  did  not  satisfy  the  enthusiastic  liberator 
of  a  people  who  did  not  want  to  be  liberated  in  that 
way.     He    tried    again    in    the    following    year.     On 


I50  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

August  3,  1 85 1,  he  sailed  from  near  New  Orleans,  on 
the  steamer  Pampero,  in  command  of  a  force  of  about 
four  hundred,  largely  composed  of  young  Americans 
who  had  been  lured  into  the  enterprise  by  assurance 
of  thrilling  adventure  and  large  pay.  They  landed 
near  Bahia  Honda,  about  fifty  miles  west  of  Havana. 
Here,  again,  the  Cubans  refused  to  rise  and  join  the 
invaders.  Here,  again,  they  encountered  the  Spanish 
forces  by  whom  they  were  beaten  and  routed.  Many 
were  killed,  some  were  captured,  and  others  escaped 
into  the  surrounding  country  and  were  captured 
afterward.  Lopez  was  among  the  captured.  He  was 
taken  to  Havana,  and  died  by  garrote  in  the  little 
fortress  La  Punta.  His  first  officer.  Colonel  Critten- 
den, and  some  fifty  Americans  were  captured  and 
taken  to  Atares,  the  fortress  at  the  head  of  Havana 
harbor,  where  they  were  shot.  For  that  somewhat 
brutal  adl,  the  United  States  could  ask  no  indemnity. 
In  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  they 
had  invaded  the  territory  of  a  nation  with  which  the 
country  was  at  peace.  In  the  initial  issue  of  the 
New  York  Times,  on  Odlober  18,  1851,  there  appeared 
a  review  of  the  incident,  presenting  a  contemporane- 
ous opinion  of  the  experience.  It  was,  in  part,  as 
follows : 

"Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  the  fa 61  that,  for 
the  present,  at  least,  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba  do  not 
desire  their  freedom.  The  opinion  has  very  widely 
prevailed  that  the  Cubans  were  grievously  oppressed 
by  their  Spanish  rulers,  and  that  the  severity  of  their 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  151 

oppression  alone  prevented  them  from  making  some 
effort  to  throw  it  off.  The  presence  of  an  armed 
force  in  their  midst,  however  small,  it  was  supposed 
would  summon  them  by  thousands  to  the  standard 
of  revolt,  and  convert  the  colony  into  a  free  republic. 
Men  high  in  office,  men  who  had  lived  in  Cuba  and 
were  supposed  to  be  familiar  with  the  sentiments  of 
its  people,  have  uniformly  represented  that  they 
were  ripe  for  revolt,  and  desired  only  the  presence 
of  a  small  military  band  to  serve  as  a  nucleus  for 
their  force.  Believing  that  the  Cuban  population 
would  aid  them,  American  adventurers  enlisted  and 
were  ruined.  They  found  no  aid.  Not  a  Cuban 
joined  them.  They  were  treated  as  pirates  and  rob- 
bers from  the  first  moment  of  their  landing.  Nor 
could  they  expedl  any  other  treatment  in  case  of 
failure.  They  ceased  to  be  American  citizens  the 
moment  they  set  out,  as  invaders,  for  the  shores 
of  Cuba." 

The  excitement  of  the  Lopez  incident  was  passing 
when  it  was  revived,  in  1854,  by  the  Black  Warrior 
experience,  to  which  reference  is  made  elsewhere. 
Another  invasion  was  projedled  by  exuberant  and 
adventurous  Americans.  It  was  to  sail  from  New 
Orleans  under  command  of  General  Quitman,  a  former 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.  No  secret 
was  made  of  the  expedition,  and  Quitman  openly 
boasted  of  his  purposes,  in  Washington.  The  reports 
having  reached  the  White  House,  President  Pierce 
issued   a  proclamation  warning  "all  persons,   citizens 


152  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

of  the  United  States  and  others  residing  therein" 
that  the  General  Government  would  not  fail  to  prose- 
cute with  due  energy  all  those  who  presumed  to 
disregard  the  laws  of  the  land  and  our  treaty  obliga- 
tions. He  charged  all  officers  of  the  United  States 
to  exert  all  their  lawful  power  to  maintain  the  author- 
ity and  preserve  the  peace  of  the  country.  Quitman 
was  arrested,  and  put  under  bonds  to  resped:  the 
neutrality  laws.  There  was  a  limited  uprising  in 
Puerto  Principe,  in  1851,  and  a  conspiracy  was  re- 
vealed, in  Pinar  del  Rio,  in  1852.  A  few  years  later 
the  Liberal  Club  in  Havana  and  the  Cuban  Junta 
in  New  York  were  reported  as  raising  money  and 
organizing  expeditions.  Some  sailed,  but  they  accom- 
plished little,  except  as  the  a(flivities  appear  as  a 
manifestation  of  the  persistent  opposition  on  the 
part  of  what  was  probably  only  a  small  minority  of 
the  Cuban  people.  For  several  years,  the  unrest 
and  the  agitation  continued.  Spain*s  blindness  to 
the  situation  is  puzzling.  In  his  Cuba  and  Inter- 
national Relations,  Pvlr.  Callahan  says:  "Spain,  after 
squandering  a  continent,  had  still  clung  tenaciously 
to  Cuba;  and  the  changing  governments  v/hich  had 
been  born  (in  Spain)  only  to  be  strangled,  held  her 
with  a  taxing  hand.  While  England  had  allowed 
her  colonies  to  rule  themselves,  Spain  had  persisted 
in  keeping  Cuba  in  the  same  state  of  tutelage  that 
existed  when  she  was  the  greatest  power  In  the  world, 
and  when  the  idea  of  colonial  rights  had  not  de- 
veloped."    In   Tomorrow  in  Cuba,  Mr.   Pepper  notes 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  153 

that  "though  the  conception  of  colonial  home  rule 
for  Cuba  was  non-existent  among  the  Spanish  states- 
men of  that  day,  the  perception  of  it  was  clear  on 
the  part  of  the  thinking  people  of  the  island.  The 
educated  and  wealthy  Cubans  who  in  1865  formed 
themselves  into  a  national  party  and  urged  adminis- 
trative and  economic  changes  upon  Madrid  felt 
the  lack  of  understanding  among  Spanish  statesmen. 
The  concessions  asked  were  not  a  broad  application 
of  civil  liberties.  When  their  programme  was  re- 
je(fled  in  its  entirety  they  ceased  to  ask  favors.  They 
inaugurated  the  Ten  Years'  War."  Regarding  this 
adlion  by  the  Cubans,  Dr.  Enrique  Jose  Varona, 
a  distinguished  Cuban  and  a  former  deputy  to  the 
Cortes,  has  stated  that  "before  the  insurredlion  of 
1868,  the  reform  party  which  included  the  most 
enlightened,  wealthy,  and  influential  Cubans,  ex- 
hausted all  the  resources  within  their  reach  to  induce 
Spain  to  initiate  a  healthy  change  in  her  Cuban 
policy.  The  party  started  the  publication  of  period- 
icals in  Madrid  and  in  the  island,  addressed  petitions, 
maintained  a  great  agitation  throughout  the  country, 
and  having  succeeded  in  leading  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment to  make  an  inquiry  into  the  economic,  political, 
and  social  conditions  in  Cuba,  they  presented  a  com- 
plete plan  of  government  which  satisfied  public  re- 
quirements as  well  as  the  aspirations  of  the  people. 
The  Spanish  Government  disdainfully  cast  aside  the 
proposition  as  useless,  increased  taxation,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  its  exadlion  with  extreme  severity."     Here 


154  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

we  have  evidence  that  even  at  that  time  Cuba  did 
not  seek  its  independence;  the  objecft  was  reform  in 
oppressive  laws  and  in  burdensome  taxation,  a 
measure  of  self-government,  under  Spain,  and  a 
greater  industrial  and  commercial  freedom.  It  is 
most  difficult  to  understand  the  short-sightedness 
of  the  Spanish  authorities.  The  war  soon  followed 
the  refusal  of  these  entirely  reasonable  demands, 
and  the  course  of  the  Cubans  is  entirely  to  their 
credit.  An  acceptance  of  the  situation  and  a  further 
submission  would  have  shown  them  as  contemptible. 
The  details  of  a  conflid:  that  lasted  for  ten  years 
are  quite  impossible  of  presentation  in  a  few  pages. 
Nor  are  they  of  value  or  interest  to  any  except  special 
students  who  can  find  them  elaborately  set  forth  in 
many  volumes,  some  in  Spanish  and  a  few  in  English. 
Having  tried  once  before  to  cover  this  period  as 
briefly  and  as  adequately  as  possible,  I  can  do  no 
better  here  than  to  repeat  the  story  as  told  in  an 
earlier  work  {Cuba  and  the  Intervention).  On  the 
loth  of  October,  1868,  Carlos  Manuel  Cespedes 
and  his  associates  raised  the  cry  of  Cuban  inde- 
pendence at  Yara,  in  the  Province  of  Puerto  Principe 
(now  Camaguey).  On  the  loth  of  April,  1869,  there 
was  proclaimed  the  Constitution  of  the  Cuban 
Republic.  During  the  intervening  months,  there  was 
considerable  fighting,  though  it  was  largely  in  the 
nature  of  guerrilla  skirmishing.  The  Spanish  Minister 
of  State  asserted  in  a  memorandum  issued  to  Spain's 
representatives    in    other    countries,     under    date    of 


CUBA'S   REVOLUTIONS  155 

February  3,  1876,  that  at  the  outbreak  of  the  in- 
surredllon  Spain  had  7,500  troops,  all  told,  in  Cuba. 
According  to  General  Sickels,  at  that  time  the  Ameri- 
can Minister  to  Spain,  this  number  was  increased 
by  reinforcements  of  34,500  within  the  first  year  of 
the  war.  The  accuracy  of  this  information,  however, 
has  been  questioned.  Prior  to  the  establishment  of 
the  so-called  Republic,  the  affairs  of  the  insurrection 
were  in  the  hands  of  an  Assembly  of  Representatives. 
On  February  26,  this  body  issued  a  decree  proclaim- 
ing the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  island, 
and  calling  upon  those  who  thus  received  their  free- 
dom to  "contribute  their  efforts  to  the  independence 
of  Cuba."  During  the  opening  days  of  April,  1869, 
the  Assembly  met  at  Guiamaro.  On  the  tenth  of 
that  month  a  government  was  organized,  with  a 
president,  vice-president,  general-in-chief  of  the  army, 
secretaries  of  departments,  and  a  parliament  or 
congress.  Carlos  Manuel  Cespedes  was  chosen  as 
President,  and  Manuel  de  Quesada  as  General-in- 
Chief.  A  Constitution  was  adopted.  Senor  Morales 
Lemus  was  appointed  as  minister  to  the  United 
States,  to  represent  the  new  Republic,  and  to  ask 
official  recognition  by  the  American  Government. 
The  government  which  the  United  States  was  asked 
to  recognize  was  a  somewhat  vague  institution.  The 
insurre(flion,  or  revolution,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  at 
this  time  consisted  of  a  nominal  central  government, 
chiefly  self-organized  and  self-eledled,  and  various 
roving    bands,    probably    numbering    some    thousands 


IS6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

in  their  aggregate,  of  men  rudely  and  incompetently 
armed,  and  showing  little  or  nothing  of  military 
organization  or  method. 

Like  all  Cuban-Spanish  wars  and  warfare,  the 
destrudlion  of  property  was  a  common  procedure. 
Some  of  the  methods  employed  for  the  suppression 
of  the  insurrection  were  not  unlike  those  adopted 
by  General  Weyler  in  the  later  war.  At  Bayamo, 
on  April  4,  1869,  Count  Valmaseda,  the  Spanish 
Commandant  of  that  distridl,  issued  the  following 
proclamation: 

1.  Every  man,  from  the  age  of  fifteen  years  up- 
ward, found  away  from  his  place  of  habitation,  who 
does  not  prove  a  justified  reason  therefor,  will  be 
shot. 

2.  Every  unoccupied  habitation  will  be  burned 
by  the  troops. 

3.  Every  habitation  from  which  no  white  flag 
floats,  as  a  signal  that  its  occupants  desire  peace, 
will  be   reduced  to   ashes. 

In  the  summer  of  1869,  the  United  States  essayed 
a  reconciliation  and  an  adjustment  of  the  differences 
between  the  contestants.  To  this  Spain  replied 
that  the  mediation  of  any  nation  in  a  purely  domestic 
question  was  wholly  incompatible  with  the  honor 
of  Spain,  and  that  the  independence  of  Cuba  was 
inadmissible  as  a  basis  of  negotiation.  Heavy  rein- 
forcements were  sent  from  Spain,  and  the  strife 
continued.  The  commerce  of  the  island  was  not 
greatly  disturbed,  for  the  reason  that  the  great  pro- 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  157 

ducing  and  commercial  centres  lay  to  the  westward, 
and  the  military  adlivities  were  confined,  almost  ex- 
clusively, to  the  eastern  and  central  areas.  In  April, 
1874,  Mr.  Fish,  then  Secretary  of  State,  reported 
that  "it  is  now  more  than  five  years  since  the  up- 
rising (in  Cuba)  and  it  has  been  announced  with 
apparent  authority,  that  Spain  has  lost  upward  of 
80,000  men,  and  has  expended  upward  of  $100,000,- 
000,  in  efforts  to  suppress  it;  yet  the  insurredlion  seems 
today  as  acftive  and  as  powerful  as  it  has  ever  been.'* 
Spain's  losses  among  her  troops  were  not  due  so 
much  to  the  casualties  of  war  as  they  were  to  the 
ravages  of  disease,  especially  yellow  fever.  The 
process,  in  which  both  parties  would  appear  to  be 
about  equally  culpable,  of  destroying  property  and 
taking  life  when  occasion  offered,  proceedings  which 
are  hardly  to  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  war,  con- 
tinued until  the  beginning  of  1878.  Throughout  the 
entire  period  of  the  war,  the  American  officials  labored 
diligently  for  its  termination  on  a  basis  that  would 
give  fair  promise  of  an  enduring  peace.  Many 
questions  arose  concerning  the  arrest  of  American 
citizens  and  the  destrucftion  of  property  of  American 
ownership.  Proposals  to  grant  the  Cubans  the  rights 
of  belligerents  were  dismissed  as  not  properly  war- 
ranted by  the  conditions,  and  questions  arose  regard- 
ing the  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition,  from  this 
country,  by  filibustering  expeditions.  References  to 
Cuban  affairs  appear  in  many  presidential  messages, 
and  the  matter  was  a  subje(5l  of  much  discussion  and 


158  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

numerous  measures  in  Congress.  Diplomatic  com- 
munication was  constantly  adlive.  In  his  message 
of  December  7,  1875,  President  Grant  said:  **The 
past  year  has  furnished  no  evidence  of  an  approaching 
termination  of  the  ruinous  conflidl  which  has  been 
raging  for  seven  years  in  the  neighboring  island  of 
Cuba.  While  conscious  that  the  insurrection  has 
shown  a  strength  and  endurance  which  make  it  at 
least  doubtful  whether  it  be  in  the  power  of  Spain 
to  subdue  it,  it  seems  unquestionable  that  no  such 
civil  organization  exists  which  may  be  recognized 
as  an  independent  government  capable  of  performing 
its  international  obligations  and  entitled  to  be  treated 
as  one  of  the  powers  of  the  earth."  Nor  did  he  then 
deem  the  grant  of  belligerent  rights  to  the  Cubans 
as  either  expedient  or  properly  warranted  by  the 
circumstances. 

In  1878,  Martinez  Campos  was  Governor-General 
of  Cuba,  and  Maximo  Gomez  was  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Cuban  forces.  Both  parties  were  weary 
of  the  prolonged  hostihties,  and  neither  was  able  to 
compel  the  other  to  surrender.  Spain,  however, 
professed  a  willingness  to  yield  an  important  part 
of  the  demands  of  her  rebellious  subjecfls.  Martinez 
Campos  and  Gomez  met  at  Zanjon  and,  on  February 
10,  1878,  mutually  agreed  to  what  has  been  variously 
called  a  peace  padl,  a  treaty,  and  a  capitulation. 
The  agreement  was  based  on  provisions  for  a  redress 
of  Cuban  grievances  through  greater  civil,  political, 
and    administrative    privileges    for    the    Cubans,    with 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  159 

forgetfulness  of  the  past  and  amnesty  for  all  then 
under  sentence  for  political  offences.  Delay  in 
carrying  these  provisions  into  effed:  gave  rise  to  an 
attempt  to  renew  the  struggle  two  years  later,  but 
the  effort  was   a   failure. 

Matters  then  quieted  down  for  a  number  of  years. 
The  Cubans  waited  to  see  what  would  be  done.  The 
Spanish  Governor-General  still  remained  the  supreme 
power  and,  aside  from  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the 
application  of  the  Spanish  Constitution  and  Spanish 
laws  to  Cuba,  and  Cuban  representation  in  the  Cortes, 
much  of  which  was  rather  form  than  fad:,  the  island 
gained  little  by  the  new  conditions.  Discontent  and 
protest  continued  and,  at  last,  broke  again  into  open 
rebellion   in    1895. 

The  story  of  that  experience  is  told  in  another  chap- 
ter. In  1906,  there  came  one  of  the  most  deplorable 
experiences  in  the  history  of  the  island,  the  first  and 
only  discreditable  revolution.  The  causes  of  the 
experience  are  not  open  to  our  criticism.  Our  own 
records  show  too  much  of  precisely  the  same  kind 
of  work,  illegal  registration,  ballot  box  stuffing, 
threats  and  bribery.  The  first  eledion  in  the  new 
Republic  was  carried  with  only  a  limited  and  some- 
what perfundory  opposition  to  the  candidacy  of 
Estrada  Palma.  Before  the  second  eledion  came,  in 
1905,  he  allied  himself  definitely  with  an  organiza- 
tion then  known  as  the  Moderate  party.  The  opposi- 
tion was  known  as  the  Liberal  party.  Responsibility 
for  the   disgraceful   campaign   that   followed    rests   on 


i6o  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

both,  almost  equally.  The  particular  difference  lies 
in  the  fadl  that,  the  principal  offices  having  been 
given  to  adherents  of  the  Moderates,  they  were  able 
to  control  both  registration  and  eledlion  proceedings. 
But  the  methods  employed  by  the  opposition  were  no 
less  censurable.  Realizing  defeat,  the  Liberals  with- 
drew from  the  field,  by  concerted  adlion,  on  the  day 
of  the  eled:ion,  and  the  Moderates  eledled  every  one 
of  their  candidates.  Naturally,  a  feeling  of  bitter 
resentment  was  created,  and  there  came,  in  the  spring 
of  1906,  rumors  of  armed  revolt.  In  August,  an 
adlual  insurredlion  was  begun.  Disgruntled  political 
leaders  gathered  formidable  bands  in  Pinar  del  Rio 
and  in  Santa  Clara  provinces.  President  Palma 
became  seriously  alarmed,  even  actually  frightened. 
Through  the  United  States  Consul-General  in  Havana, 
he  sent  urgent  appeals  to  Washington  for  naval  and 
military  aid.  Mr.  Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War,  and 
Mr.  Bacon,  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  were 
sent  to  Havana  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  situa- 
tion. They  arrived  in  Havana  on  September  19. 
After  ten  days  of  careful  and  thorough  study,  and 
earnest  effort  to  effedl  an  adjustment,  a  proclamation 
was  issued  declaring  the  creation  of  a  provisional 
government.  This  was  accepted  by  both  parties 
and  the  insurgent  bands  dispersed.  Charles  E. 
Magoon  was  sent  down  as  Provisional  Governor. 
Americans  who  are  disposed  to  censure  the  Cubans 
for  this  experience  in  their  history,  may  perhaps 
turn    with    profit    to    some    little    experiences    in    the 


CUBA'S  REVOLUTIONS  i6i 

history  of  their  own  country  in  its  poKtical  infancy, 
in  1786  and  1794.  Those  incidents  do  not  reheve 
the  Cubans  of  the  censure  to  which  they  are  open, 
but  they  make  it  a  httle  difficult  for  us  to  condemn 
them  with  proper  grace  and  dignity.  The  provisional 
government  continued  until  January  28,  1909,  when 
control  was  turned  over  to  the  duly  elecfled  officials, 
they  being  the  same  who  withdrew  from  the  polls, 
acknowledging  defeat,  in  the  eledlion  of  1905. 


X 

INDEPENDENCE 

|UBA'S  final  movement  for  independence  began 
on  February  24,  1895.  Under  the  treaty  of 
Zanjon,  executed  in  1878,  Spain  agreed  to 
grant  to  the  Cubans  such  reforms  as  would  remove 
their  grounds  of  complaint,  long  continued.  The 
Cubans  denied  that  the  terms  of  the  agreement  had 
been  kept.  Those  terms  are  indicated  in  a  statement 
submitted  by  Tomas  Estrada  y  Palma  to  Richard 
Olney,  then  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States. 
It  bore  the  date  of  December  7,  1895.  The  com- 
munication sets  forth,  from  the  Cuban  point  of  view, 
of  course,  the  causes  of  the  revolution  of  1895.  It 
says: 

"These  causes  are  substantially  the  same  as  those 
of  the  former  revolution,  lasting  from  1868  to  1878, 
and  terminating  only  on  the  representation  of  the 
Spanish  Government  that  Cuba  would  be  granted 
such  reforms  as  would  remove  the  grounds  of  com- 
plaint on  the  part  of  the  Cuban  people.  Unfortu- 
nately the  hopes  thus  held  out  have  never  been 
realized.  The  representation  which  was  to  be  given 
the  Cubans  has  proved  to  be  absolutely  without 
charadler;     taxes   have   been   levied    anew   on   every- 


INDEPENDENCE  163 

thing  conceivable;  the  offices  in  the  island  have 
increased,  but  the  officers  are  all  Spaniards;  the 
native  Cubans  have  been  left  with  no  public  duties 
whatsoever  to  perform,  except  the  payment  of  taxes 
to  the  Government  and  blackmail  to  the  officials, 
without  privilege  even  to  move  from  place  to  place 
in  the  island  except  on  the  permission  of  government 
authority. 

"Spain  has  framed  laws  so  that  the  natives  have 
substantially  been  deprived  of  the  right  of  suffrage. 
The  taxes  levied  have  been  almost  entirely  devoted 
to  support  the  army  and  navy  in  Cuba,  to  pay 
interest  on  the  debt  that  Spain  has  saddled  on  the 
island,  and  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  vast  number 
of  Spanish  office  holders,  devoting  only  ^746,000  for 
internal  improvements  out  of  the  ^26,000,000  colledled 
by  tax.  No  public  schools  are  in  reach  of  the  masses 
for  their  education.  All  the  principal  industries  of 
the  island  are  hampered  by  excessive  imposts.  Her 
commerce  with  every  country  but  Spain  has  been 
crippled  in  every  possible  manner,  as  can  readily 
be  seen  by  the  frequent  protests  of  shipowners  and 
merchants. 

"The  Cubans  have  no  security  of  person  or  prop- 
erty. The  judiciary  are  instruments  of  the  military 
authorities.  Trial  by  military  tribunals  can  be 
ordered  at  any  time  at  the  will  of  the  Captain- 
General.  There  is,  besides,  no  freedom  of  speech, 
press,  or  religion.  In  point  of  fadl,  the  causes  of  the 
Revolution  of  1775  in  this  country  were  not  nearly 


i64  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

as  grave  as  those  that  have  driven  the  Cuban  people 
to  the  various  insurrections  which  culminated  in  the 
present    revolution." 

Spain,  of  course,  denied  these  charges,  and  asserted 
that  the  agreement  had  been  kept  in  good  faith. 
The  Spanish  Government  may  have  been  technically 
correct  in  its  claim  that  all  laws  necessary  to  the 
fulfillment  of  its  promises  had  been  enabled.  But 
it  seems  entirely  certain  that  they  had  not  been 
made  efFedlive.  The  conditions  of  the  Cubans  were 
in  no  way  improved  and,  some  time  before  the  out- 
break, they  began  preparations  for  armed  resistance. 
In  Cuba  and  the  Intervention  (published  in  1905)  I 
have  already  written  an  outline  review  of  the  ex- 
perience of  the  revolution,  and  I  shall  here  make 
use  of  extracfts  from  that  volume.  The  notable 
leader  and  instigator  of  the  movement  was  Jose 
Marti,  a  patriot,  a  poet,  and  a  dreamer,  but  a  man 
of  adlion.  He  visited  General  Maximo  Gomez  at 
his  home  in  Santo  Domingo,  where  that  doughty 
old  warrior  had  betaken  himself  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  Ten  Years'  War.  Gomez  accepted  the  com- 
mand of  the  proposed  army  of  Cuban  liberation. 
Antonio  Maceo  also  accepted  a  command.  He  was  a 
mulatto,  an  able  and  daring  fighter,  whose  motives  were 
perhaps  a  compound  of  patriotism,  hatred  of  Spain, 
and  a  love  for  the  excitement  of  warfare.  Others 
whose  names  are  written  large  in  Cuba's  history 
soon  joined  the  movement.  A  junta,  or  committee, 
was  organized  with  headquarters  in  New  York.     After 


INDEPENDENCE  165 

the  death  of  Marti,  this  was  placed  in  charge  of  Tomas 
Estrada  y  Palma,  who  afterward  became  the  first 
President  of  the  new  Repubhc.  Its  work  was  to 
raise  funds,  obtain  and  forward  suppHes  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  to  advance  the  cause  in  all  possible  ways. 
There  were  legal  battles  to  be  fought  by  and  through 
this  organization,  and  Mr.  Horatio  S.  Rubens,  a 
New  York  lawyer,  was  placed  in  charge  of  that  de- 
partment. The  twenty-fourth  of  February  was  set 
for  the  beginning  of  adiivities,  but  arms  were  lacking, 
and  while  the  movement  was  ad:ually  begun  on  that 
day,  the  operations  of  the  first  six  weeks  or  so  were 
limited  to  numerous  local  uprisings  of  little  moment. 
But  the  local  authorities  became  alarmed,  and  martial 
law  was  proclaimed  in  Santa  Clara  and  Matanzas 
provinces  on  the  27th.  Spain  became  alarmed  also, 
and  immediately  despatched  General  Martinez 
Campos  as  Governor-General  of  the  island,  to  succeed 
General  Calleja.  He  assumed  command  on  April 
16.  Maceo  and  his  associates,  among  them  his 
brother  Jose,  also  a  fighter  of  note,  landed  from  Costa 
Rica  on  April  i.  Marti,  Gomez,  and  others,  reached 
the  island  on  the  nth.  Meanwhile,  Bartolome  Maso, 
an  influential  planter  in  Oriente,  had  been  in  com- 
mand of  the  forces  in  his  vicinity.  Many  joined,  and 
others  stood  ready  to  join  as  soon  as  they  could  be 
equipped.  Engagements  with  the  Spanish  troops 
soon  became  a  matter  of  daily  occurrence,  and  Mar- 
tinez Campos  realized  that  a  formidable  movement  was 
on.     Spain  hurried  thousands  of  soldiers  to  the  island. 


i66  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

For  the  first  five  months,  the  insurgents  kept  their 
opponents  busy  with  an  almost  uninterrupted  series 
of  Httle  engagements,  a  guerrilla  warfare.  In  one 
of  these,  on  May  19,  Jose  Marti  was  killed.  His 
death  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  patriots,  but  it  served 
rather  to  inspire  a  greater  activity  than  to  check 
the  movement.  His  death  came  in  the  effort  of  a 
small  band  of  insurgents  to  pass  the  Spanish  cordon 
designed  to  confine  a(5livities  to  Oriente  Province. 
Immediately  after  the  death  of  Marti,  Maximo 
Gomez  crossed  that  barrier  and  organized  an  army 
in  Camaguey.  The  first  engagement  properly  to 
be  regarded  as  a  battle  occurred  at  Peralejo,  near 
Bayamo,  in  Oriente,  about  the  middle  of  July.  The 
respective  leaders  were  Antonio  Maceo  and  General 
Martinez  Campos,  in  person.  The  vi6lory  fell  to 
Maceo,  and  Martinez  Campos  barely  eluded  capture. 
The  engagements  of  the  Ten  Years'  War  were  con- 
fined to  the  then  sparsely  settled  eastern  half  of  the 
island.  Those  of  the  revolution  of  1895  covered  the 
greater  part  of  the  island,  sweeping  gradually  but 
steadily  from  east  to  west.  During  my  first  visit 
to  Cuba,  I  was  frequently  puzzled  by  references 
to  "the  invasion."  "What  invasion?"  I  asked, 
"Who  invaded  the  country?"  I  found  that  it  meant 
the  westward  sweep  of  the  liberating  army  under 
Gomez  and  Maceo.  It  covered  a  period  of  more 
than  two  years  of  frequent  fighting  and  general  de- 
struction of  property.  Early  in  the  operations 
Gomez  issued   the   following  proclamation: 


INDEPENDENCE  167 

GENERAL   HEADQUARTERS   OF   THE   ARMY 
OF  LIBERATION 

Najasa,  Camaguey,  July  i,  1895. 
To  THE  Planters  and  Owners  of  Cattle  Ranches: 

In  accord  with  the  great  interests  of  the  revolution 
for  the  independence  of  the  country,  and  for  which  we 
are    in    arms: 

Whereas,  all  exploitations  of  any  produd  whatsoever 
are  aids  and  resources  to  the  Government  that  we  are 
fighting,  it  is  resolved  hy  the  general-in-chief  to  issue 
this  general  order  throughout  the  island,  that  the  intro- 
dudion  of  articles  of  commerce,  as  well  as  beef  and 
cattle,  into  the  towns  occupied  hy  the  enemy,  is  abso- 
lutely prohibited.  The  sugar  plantations  will  stop 
their  labors,  and  those  who  shall  attempt  to  grind  the  crop 
notwithstanding  this  order,  will  have  their  cane  burned 
and  their  buildings  demolished.  The  person  who, 
disobeying  this  order,  shall  try  to  profit  from  the  present 
situation  of  affairs,  will  show  by  his  condud  little  re- 
sped  for  the  rights  of  the  revolution  of  redemption,  and 
therefore  shall  be  considered  as  an  enemy,  treated  as  a 
traitor,  and  tried  as  such  in  case  of  his  capture. 

{Signed)  MAXIMO  GOMEZ, 
The  General-in-Chief. 

This  proved  only  partially  efFe(5live,  and  it  was 
followed  by  a  circular  to  commanding  officers,  a 
few  months  later,  reading  thus: 


i68  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF 
LIBERATION 

Territory  of  Sandli  Spiritus,  November  6,  1895. 

Animated  hy  the  spirit  of  tinchangeable  resolution  in 
defence  of  the  rights  of  the  revolution  of  redemption  of 
this  country  of  colonists,  humiliated  and  despised  hy 
Spain,  and  in  harmony  with  what  has  been  decreed 
concerning  the  subjed  in  the  circular  dated  the  ist  of 
July,  I  have  ordered  the  following: 

Article  I.  That  all  plantations  shall  he  totally 
destroyed,  their  cane  and  outbuildings  burned,  and 
railroad  con7iedions  destroyed. 

Article  II.  All  laborers  who  shall  aid  the  sugar 
fadories  —  these  sources  of  supplies  that  we  must  de- 
prive the  enemy  of  —  shall  be  considered  as  traitors  to 
their  country. 

Article  III.  All  who  are  caught  in  the  ad,  or  whose 
violation  of  Article  II  shall  be  proven,  shall  be  shot. 
Let  all  chiefs  of  operations  of  the  army  of  liberty  comply 
with  this  order,  determined  to  furl  triumphantly,  even 
over  ruin  and  ashes,  the  flag  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba. 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  waging  the  war,  follow  the 
private  instrudions  that  I  have  already  given. 

For  the  sake  of  the  honor  of  our  arms  and  your  well- 
known  courage  and  patriotism,  it  is  expeded  that  you 
will  stridly  comply  with  the  above  orders. 

{Signed)  MAXIMO  GOMEZ, 
General-in-Chief. 


INDEPENDENCE  169 

To  peace-loving  souls,  all  this  sounds  very  brutal, 
but  all  war  is  brutal  and  barbarous.  In  our  strife 
in  the  Philippines,  from  1899  to  1902,  many  of  us 
v^ere  proud  to  be  told  that  we  were  condu(5ling  a 
"humane  war."  There  is  no  such  thing.  The  very 
terms  are  contradicftory.  Gomez  had  declared  that  if 
Spain  would  not  give  up  Cuba  to  the  Cubans,  the 
Cubans  would  themselves  render  the  island  so  worth- 
less and  desolate  a  possession  that  Spain  could  not 
afford  to  hold  it.  Short  of  further  submission  to  a 
rule  that  was,  very  rightly,  regarded  as  no  longer 
endurable,  no  other  course  was  open  to  them. 
Another  proclamation  appeared  a  few  days  later. 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF 
LIBERATION 

Sandli  Spiritus,  November   11,    1895. 

To  Honest  Men,  Victims  of  the  Torch: 

The  painful  measure  made  necessary  hy  the  revolution 
of  redemption  drenched  in  innocent  blood  from  Hatuey 
to  our  own  times  hy  cruel  and  merciless  Spain  will 
plunge  you  in  misery.  As  general-in-chief  of  the  army 
of  liberation^  it  is  my  duty  to  lead  it  to  vi6lory,  without 
permitting  myself  to  be  restrained  or  terrified,  by  any 
means  necessary  to  place  Cuba  in  the  shortest  time  in 
possession  of  her  dearest  ideal.  I  therefore  place  the 
responsibility  for  so  great  a  ruin  on  those  who  look  on 
impassively  and  force  us  to  those  extreme  measures 
which  they   then  condemn  like  dolts  and  hypocrites  as 


I/O  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

they  are.  After  so  many  years  of  supplication,  humili- 
ation, contumely,  banishment,  and  death,  when  this 
people,  of  its  own  will,  has  arisen  in  arms,  there  re- 
mains no  solution  hut  to  triumph,  it  matters  not  what 
means  are  employed  to  accomplish  it. 

This  people  cannot  hesitate  between  the  wealth  of 
Spain  and  the  liberty  of  Cuba.  Its  greatest  crime  would 
he  to  stain  the  land  with  blood  without  effecting  its 
purposes  because  of  puerile  scruples  and  fears  which  do 
not  concur  with  the  character  of  the  men  who  are  in  the 
field,  challenging  the  fury  of  an  army  which  is  one  of 
the  bravest  in  the  world,  but  which  in  this  war  is  without 
enthusiasm  or  faith,  ill-fed  and  unpaid.  The  war  did 
not  begin  February  24;    it  is  about  to  begin  now. 

The  war  had  to  be  organized;  it  was  necessary  to 
calm  and  lead  into  the  proper  channels  the  revolutionary 
spirit  always  exaggerated  in  the  beginning  by  wild 
enthusiasm.  The  struggle  ought  to  begin  in  obedience 
to  a  plan  and  method  more  or  less  studied,  as  the  result 
of  the  peculiarities  of  this  war.  This  has  already  been 
done.  Let  Spain  now  send  her  soldiers  to  rivet  the 
chains  on  her  slaves;  the  children  of  this  land  are  in 
the  field,  armed  with  the  weapons  of  liberty.  The 
struggle  will  be  terrible,  but  success  will  crown  the 
revolution  and  the  efforts  of  the  oppressed. 

{Signed)  MAXIMO  GOMEZ, 
General-in-Chief. 

Such  an  address  doubtless  savors  of  bombast  to 
many  Americans,  but  in  the  history  of  political  and 


INDEPENDENCE  171 

military  oratory  in  their  own  land  they  can  find  an 
endless  number  of  speeches  that,  in  that  particular 
quality,  rival  if  they  do  not  surpass  it.  The  Cuban 
situation  was  desperate,  and  the  Cuban  attitude 
was  one  of  fixed  determination.  Producflive  industry 
was  generally  suppressed,  and  much  property  was 
destroyed,  by  both  Cubans  and  Spaniards.  This 
necessarily  threw  many  out  of  employment,  and  drove 
them  into  the  insurgent  ranks.  The  Cubans  are  a 
peaceful  people.  All  desired  relief  from  oppressive 
conditions,  but  many  did  not  want  war.  While 
many  entered  the  army  from  patriotic  motives,  many 
others  were  brought  into  it  only  as  a  consequence  of 
conditions  created  by  the  conflidl.  The  measures 
adopted  were  severe,  but  decision  of  the  contest  by 
pitched  battles  was  quite  impossible.  The  quoted 
figures  are  somewhat  unreliable,  but  the  Spanish 
forces  outnumbered  the  Cubans  by  at  least  five  to 
one,  and  they  could  obtain  freely  the  supplies  and 
ammunition  that  the  Cubans  could  obtain  only  by 
filibustering  expeditions.  The  Cubans,  therefore, 
adopted  a  policy,  the  only  policy  that  afforded 
promise  of  success.  Spain  poured  in  fresh  troops 
until,  by  the  close  of  1895,  its  army  is  reported  as 
numbering    200,000    men. 

The  Cubans  carried  the  contest  westward  from 
Oriente  and  Camaguey,  through  Santa  Clara,  and 
into  the  provinces  of  Matanzas,  Havana,  and  Pinar 
del  Rio. 

The  trocha  across  the  island,   from  Jucaro  on   the 


172  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

south  to  Moron  on  the  north,  originally  construdled 
during  the  Ten  Years'  War,  was  a  line  of  block- 
houses, connecfled  by  barbed  wire  tangles,  along  a 
railway.  This  obstructed  but  did  not  stop  the 
Cuban  advance.  The  authorities  declared  martial 
law  in  the  provinces  of  Havana  and  Pinar  del  Rio 
on  January  2,  1896.  Gomez  advanced  to  Marianao, 
at  Havana's  very  door,  and  that  city  was  terrified. 
Maceo  was  operating  immediately  beyond  him  in 
Pinar  del  Rio,  through  the  most  important  part  of 
which  he  swept  with  torch  and  machete.  The 
Spaniards  built  a  trocha  there  from  Mariel  south- 
ward. Maceo  crossed  it  and  continued  his  work 
of  destrudlion,  in  which  large  numbers  of  the  people 
of  the  region  joined.  He  burned  and  destroyed 
Spanish  property;  the  Spaniards,  in  retaliation, 
burned  and  destroyed  property  belonging  to  Cubans. 
Along  the  highway  from  Marianao  to  Guanajay,  out 
of  many  stately  country  residences,  only  one  was 
left  standing.  Villages  were  destroyed  and  hamlets 
were  wrecked.  On  one  of  his  expeditions  in  December, 
1896,  Maceo  was  killed  near  Punta  Brava,  within 
fifteen  miles  of  Havana.  Gomez  planned  this  west- 
ward sweep,  from  Oriente,  six  hundred  miles  away, 
but  to  Antonio  Maceo  belongs  a  large  part  of  the 
credit  for  its  execution.  The  weakness  of  the  Ten 
Years'  War  was  that  it  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
thinly  populated  region  of  the  east;  Gomez  and 
Maceo  carried  their  war  to  the  very  gates  of  the 
Spanish     strongholds.     There    were    occasional    con- 


'o,»  ,. 


INDEPENDENCE  173 

Aids  that  might  well  be  called  battles,  but  much  of 
it  was  carried  on  by  the  Cubans  by  sudden  and 
unexpeded  dashes  into  Spanish  camps  or  moving 
columns,  brief  but  sometimes  bloody  encounters  from 
which  the  attacking  force  melted  away  after  inflid:- 
ing  such  damage  as  it  could.  Guerrilla  warfare  is 
not  perhaps  a  respectable  method  of  fighting.  It 
involves  much  of  what  is  commonly  regarded  as 
outlawry,  of  pillage  and  of  plunder,  of  destrudion 
and  devastation.  These  results  become  respedlable 
only  when  attained  through  conventional  processes, 
and  are  in  some  way  supposed  to  be  ennobled  by 
those  processes.  But  they  sometimes  become  the 
only  means  by  w^hich  the  weak  can  meet  the  strong. 
Such  they  seemed  to  be  in  the  Cuban  revolt  against 
the  Spaniards,  when  Maximo  Gomez  and  Antonio 
Maceo  made  guerrilla  warfare  almost  a  military 
science.  Gomez  formulated  his  plan  of  campaign, 
but,  with  the  means  at  his  disposal,  its  successful 
execution  was  possible  only  by  the  methods  adopted. 
At  all  events,  it  succeeded.  The  Cubans  were  not 
strong  enough  to  drive  Spain  out  of  the  island  by 
force  of  arms,  but  they  showed  themselves  uncon- 
querable by  the  Spanish  troops.  They  had  once  carried 
on  a  war  for  ten  years  in  a  limited  area;  by  the 
methods  adopted,  they  could  repeat  that  experience 
pradlically  throughout  the  island.  They  could  at 
least  keep  insurrection  alive  until  Spain  should  yield 
to  their  terms,  or  until  the  United  States  should  be 
compelled   to   intervene.     No   great    movements,    but 


174  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

constant  irritation,  and  the  suspension  of  all  industry, 
was  the  policy  adopted  and  pursued  for  the  year 
1897. 

But  there  was  another  side  to  it  all,  a  different 
line  of  adlivity.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  on 
the  island,  on  April  11,  1895,  Marti  had  issued  a  call 
for  the  seled:ion  of  representatives  to  form  a  civil 
government.  He  was  killed  before  this  was  effected. 
An  assembly  met,  at  Jimaguayu,  in  Camaguey,  on 
September  13,  1895.  I^  consisted  of  twenty  members, 
representing  nearly  all  parts  of  the  island.  Its 
purpose  was  the  organization  of  a  Cuban  Republic. 
On  the  i6th,  it  adopted  a  Constitution  and,  on  the 
1 8th,  eledled,  as  President,  Salvador  Cisneros  Betan- 
court,  and  as  Vice-President,  Bartolome  Maso. 
Secretaries  and  sub-secretaries  were  duly  chosen, 
and  all  were  formally  installed.  Maximo  Gomez  was 
officially  appointed  as  General-in-Chief  of  the  army, 
with  Antonio  Maceo  as  Lieutenant  General.  Tomas 
Estrada  y  Palma  was  chosen  as  delegate  plenipoten- 
tiary and  general  agent  abroad,  with  headquarters 
in  New  York.  Both  civil  and  military  organizations 
were,  for  a  time,  crude  and  somewhat  incoherent.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise.  They  were  engaged  in  a 
movement  that  could  only  succeed  by  success.  Arms 
and  money  were  lacking.  The  civil  government  was 
desirable  in  a  field  that  the  military  arm  could  not 
cover.  Adlion  lay  with  the  military  and  with  the 
Cuban  Junta  in  the  United  States.  The  latter 
organization  immediately  became  adlive.     Calls  were 


INDEPENDENCE  175 

made  for  financial  assistance  and  liberal  responses 
were  made,  chiefly  by  Cubans.  In  1896  and  1897, 
bonds  were  issued  and  sold,  or  were  exchanged  for 
supplies  and  munitions  of  war.  For  a  number  of 
years  scandalous  stories  were  afloat  declaring  that 
these  bonds  were  printed  by  the  acre,  and  issued, 
purely  for  speculative  purposes,  to  the  extent  of 
millions  upon  millions  of  dollars.  The  truth  is  that 
every  bond  printed,  whether  issued  or  unissued,  has 
been  fully  accounted  for,  the  adlual  issue  being  about 
$2,200,000.  Provision  was  made  in  Cuba's  Constitu- 
tion for  the  recognition  of  this  indebtedness,  and  it 
has  since  been  discharged,  while  the  plates  and  the 
unused  bonds  have  been  destroyed.  There  may  have 
been  speculation  in  the  bonds,  as  there  was  in  the 
bonds  issued  by  the  United  States  during  the  Civil 
War,  but  Cuba's  conducft  in  the  whole  matter  has 
been  honest  and  most  honorable.  In  that  matter 
certainly,  its  detradlors  have  been  confounded.  The 
principal  difficulty  encountered  by  the  junta  was 
the  despatch  to  Cuba  of  the  men  and  the  munitions 
so  greatly  needed  by  those  in  the  field.  That, 
however,  is  a  story  that  I  shall  endeavor  to  tell,  in 
part,  in  another  chapter.  It  cannot  now,  if  ever, 
be  told   in   full. 

Meanwhile,  a  complicated  political  situation  de- 
veloped. The  story  is  too  long  and  too  complicated 
for  review  in  detail.  It  may  be  given  in  general 
outline.  The  Peace  of  1878  w^as  followed  by  the  or- 
ganization  of  political    parties,   the    Liberal   and   the 


176  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Union  Constitutional.  At  first,  there  was  compara- 
tively little  difference  in  the  essence  of  their  respedlive 
platforms,  but  the  lines  diverged  as  the  situation  de- 
veloped. The  Liberal  party  became,  and  remained, 
the  Cuban  party,  and  the  Union  Constitutional 
became  the  Spanish  party.  Later  on,  the  Liberals 
became  the  Autonomists.  Their  object,  for  twenty 
years,  was  reform  in  conditions  under  the  rule  of 
Spain.  There  was  no  independence  party.  That 
was  organized,  in  1895,  by  Marti,  Gomez,  Maceo, 
Maso,  and  their  associates.  It  had  only  one  plank 
in  its  platform  —  Cuba  Libre  y  Independiente  — 
whatever  the  cost  to  the  island  and  its  people. 
**The  Autonomist  group,"  says  Mr.  Pepper,  in  his 
Tomorrow  in  Cuba,  "became  as  much  a  political 
party  as  it  could  become  under  Spanish  institutions." 
It  grew  in  strength  and  influence,  and  continued  its 
agitation  persistently  and  stubbornly.  The  Spanish 
Cortes  busied  itself  with  discussion  of  Cuban  affairs, 
but  reached  no  conclusions,  produced  no  results. 
In  1893,  there  came  the  definite  organization  of  the 
Reformist  party,  with  aims  not  differing  greatly  from 
those  of  the  Autonomistas.  But  Spain  delayed  until 
Marti  and  his  followers  struck  their  blow.  Official 
efforts  to  placate  them  failed  utterly,  as  did  efforts 
to  intimidate  them  or  to  conquer  them.  The  Auton- 
omists declared  their  support  of  the  existing  Govern- 
ment, and  rebuked  the  insurgents  in  a  manifesto 
issued  on  April  4,  1895,  six  weeks  after  the  outbreak. 
They  only  succeeded  in  antagonizing. both  sides,  the 


INDEPENDENCE  177 

Spanish  authorities  and  the  revolutionists.  Spain, 
greatly  alarmed,  recalled  Martinez  Campos  and  sent 
out  Weyler  to  succeed  him.  Had  Spain  followed  the 
advice  of  Martinez  Campos,  the  failure  of  the  insur- 
redlion  would  have  been  little  short  of  certain.  It 
sent  out  Weyler,  on  whom  the  Cubans,  twenty  years 
earlier,  had  conferred  the  title  of  "Butcher."  This 
step  threw  to  the  side  of  the  insurgents  the  great 
mass  of  the  middle  class  Cubans  who  had  previously 
wavered  in  uncertainty,  questioning  the  success  of 
revolution  while  adhering  to  its  general  objedl. 
Weyler  instituted  the  brutal  policy  that  came  to  be 
known  as  reconcentration.  It  may  be  said,  in  a 
way,  that  the  Cuban  forces  themselves  instituted 
this  policy.  To  clear  the  country  in  which  they  were 
operating,  they  had  ordered  all  Spaniards  and  Span- 
ish sympathizers  to  betake  themselves  to  the  cities 
and  towns  occupied  by  Spanish  garrisons.  This  was 
inconvenient  for  its  vic5lims,  but  its  purpose  was 
humane.  Gomez  also  sought  to  concentrate  the 
Cubans,  particularly  the  women  and  children,  in 
the  recesses  of  the  hills  where  they  would  be  less 
exposed  to  danger  than  they  would  be  in  their  homes. 
This  also  was  a  humane  purpose. 

Weyler's  application  of  this  policy  was  utterly 
brutal.  The  people  of  the  country  were  herded  in 
prison  camps,  in  settlements  surrounded  by  stock- 
ades or  trenches  beyond  which  they  might  not  pass. 
No  provision  was  made  for  their  food  or  maintenance. 
The     vidlims     were     non-combatants,     women,     and 


178  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

children.  In  his  message  of  December,  1897,  Presi- 
dent McKinley  said  of  this  system,  as  apphed  by 
Weyler,  "It  was  not  civiHzed  warfare;  it  was  ex- 
termination. The  only  peace  it  could  beget  was  that 
of  the  wilderness  and  the  grave.''  In  my  experience 
as  a  campaign  correspondent  in  several  conflicts,  I 
have  necessarily  seen  more  or  less  of  gruesome  sights, 
the  result  of  disease  and  wounds,  but  I  have  seen 
nothing  in  any  way  comparable,  in  horror  and  piti- 
fulness,  to  the  vidims  of  this  abominable  system. 
To  describe  their  condition  in  detail  would  be  little 
short  of  offensive,  those  groups  of  hopeless,  helpless 
sufferers  who  lingered  only  until  death  came  and  kindly 
put  them  out  of  their  misery  and  pain.  But  by 
this  time,  two  forces  had  come  into  adlive  operation, 
dire  alarm  in  Spain  and  wrath  and  indignation  in 
the  United  States.  Weyler  had  failed  as  Martinez 
Campos,  when  leaving  the  island,  predicted.  He 
was  recalled,  and  was  succeeded,  on  Ocflober  31, 
1897,  by  General  Blanco.  The  new  incumbent 
tried  conciHation,  but  it  failed.  The  work  had  gone 
too  far.  The  party  in  the  field  had  become  the 
dominant  party,  not  to  be  suppressed  either  by  force 
of  arms  or  by  promises  of  political  and  economic 
reform.  At  last,  Spain  yielded.  Outside  pressure 
on  Madrid,  chiefly  from  the  United  States,  prevailed. 
A  scheme  for  Cuban  autonomy  was  devised  and, 
on  January  i,  1898,  was  put  into  effedl.  But  it 
came  too  late.  It  was  welcomed  by  many  non-par- 
ticipants   in    the    war,    and    a    form    of    government 


INDEPENDENCE  179 

was  organized  under  it.  But  the  party  then  domi- 
nant, the  army  in  the  field,  distrusted  the  arrange- 
ment and  would  have  none  of  it.  All  overtures 
were  rejecfled  and  the  struggle  continued.  On  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1898,  came  the  disaster  to  the  battleship 
Maine,  in  the  harbor  of  Havana.  On  April  nth. 
President  McKinley's  historic  message  went  to  Con- 
gress, declaring  that  *^the  only  hope  of  relief  and 
repose  from  a  condition  which  can  no  longer  be 
endured  is  the  enforced  pacification  of  Cuba,"  and 
asking  for  power  and  authority  to  use  the  military 
and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  to  efFe6l  a 
termination  of  the  strife  in  Cuba.  Such,  in  the 
briefest  possible  outline,  is  the  record  of  this  eventful 
period,  eventful  alike  for  Cuba  and  for  the  United 
States. 

During  this  struggle,  the  people  of  the  United 
States  became  deeply  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the 
island,  and  the  Administration  in  Washington  became 
gravely  concerned  by  them.  A  preceding  chapter, 
on  the  United  States  and  Cuba,  dropped  the  matter 
of  the  relations  of  this  country  to  the  island  at  the 
end  of  the  Ten  Years'  War,  but  the  relations  were  by 
no  means  dropped,  nor  were  they  even  suspended. 
The  affairs  of  the  island  appear  again  and  again  in 
diplomatic  correspondence  and  in  presidential  mes- 
sages. The  platform  of  the  Republican  party, 
adopted  at  the  national  convention  in  St.  Louis, 
on  June  18,  1896,  contained  the  following:  "From 
the   hour  of  achieving  their  own   independence,   the 


i8o  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

people  of  the  United  States  have  regarded  with 
sympathy  the  struggles  of  other  American  peoples 
to  free  themselves  from  European  domination.  We 
watch  with  deep  and  abiding  interest  the  heroic 
battle  of  the  Cuban  patriots  against  cruelty  and 
oppression,  and  our  best  hopes  go  out  for  the  full 
success  of  their  determined  contest  for  liberty.  The 
Government  of  Spain  having  lost  control  of  Cuba 
and  being  unable  to  protedl  the  property  or  lives  of 
resident  American  citizens,  or  to  comply  with  its 
treaty  obligations,  we  believe  that  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  should  actively  use  its  influence 
and  good  offices  to  restore  peace  and  give  independ- 
ence to  the  island."  The  Democratic  party  platform 
of  the  same  year  stated  that  "we  extend  our  sym- 
pathy to  the  people  of  Cuba  in  their  heroic  struggle 
for  liberty  and  independence."  The  platform  of  the 
People's  party  likewise  expressed  sympathy,  and 
declared  the  belief  that  the  time  had  come  when 
"the  United  States  should  recognize  that  Cuba  is 
and  of  right  ought  to  be  a  free  and  independent 
State."  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  almost  unani- 
mous opinion  of  the  people  of  this  country  at  that 
time.  In  1896  and  1897  many  resolutions  were 
introduced  in  the  Congress  urging  adlion  for  the 
recognition  of  Cuban  independence.  There  was  fre- 
quent and  prolonged  debate  on  the  question,  but  no 
final  adlion  was  taken.  In  his  message  of  December, 
1897,  President  McKinley  said:  "Of  the  untried 
measures  (regarding  Cuba)  there  remain  only:    Rec- 


♦  coo 
^  f  c  c 
C<  €  c  C 


C  C   O  i  ( 

c  c  c  c 


INDEPENDENCE 


i8i 


ognition  of  the  insurgents  as  belligerents;  recognition 
of  the  independence  of  Cuba;  neutral  intervention 
to  end  the  war  by  imposing  a  rational  compromise 
between  the  contestants;  and  intervention  in  favor 
of  one  or  the  other  party.  I  speak  not  of  forcible 
annexation,  for  that  cannot  be  thought  of.  That, 
by  our  code  of  morality,  would  be  criminal 
aggression." 

Recognition  of  the  Cubans  as  belligerents  would 
have  efFecfted  a  radical  change  in  the  situation.  It 
would  have  given  the  Cubans  the  right  to  buy  in 
the  American  market  the  arms  and  supplies  that 
they  could  then  only  obtain  surreptitiously,  that  they 
could  only  ship  by  '* filibustering  expeditions,"  by 
blockade-runners.  In  law,  the  propriety  of  granting 
belligerent  rights  depends  upon  the  establishment 
of  certain  fadls,  upon  the  proof  of  the  existence  of 
certain  conditions.  Those  conditions  did  then  exist 
in  Cuba.  An  unanswerable  argument  was  submitted 
by  Horatio  S.  Rubens,  Esq.,  the  able  counsel  of  the 
Cuban  junta  in  New  York.  The  Cubans  never  asked 
for  intervention  by  the  United  States;  they  did, 
with  full  justification,  ask  for  recognition  as  belliger- 
ents. The  consent  of  this  country  was  deemed  inex- 
pedient on  political  rather  than  on  moral  grounds. 
Had  it  suited  the  purposes  of  this  country  to  grant 
that  right,  very  much  the  same  arguments  would 
have  been  made  in  support  of  the  course  as  those  that 
were  used  to  support  the  denial  of  Cuba's  requests. 
Recognition  of  Cuban   independence,   or  intervention 


182 


CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 


in  favor  of  the  Cubans,  would  have  been  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  grant  of  belligerent  rights.  But  the 
policy  adopted,  and  the  course  pursued,  did  not  serve 
to  avert  war  with  Spain.  The  story  of  that  war 
has  been  written  by  many,  and  is  not  for  inclusion 
here.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed,  in  Paris,  on 
December  10,^1898,  duly  ratified  by  both  parties  in 
the  following  months,  and  was  finally  proclaimed  on 
April  II,  1899.  The  war  was  over,  but  its  definite 
termination  was  officially  declared  on  the  anniversary 
of  the  issuance  of  President  McKinley's  war  message. 
On  January  i,  1899,  the  American  flag  was  hoisted 
throughout  the  island,  as  a  signal  of  full  authority, 
but  subjedl  to  the  provisions  of  the  Teller  Amend- 
ment to  the  Joint  Resolution  of  Congress,  of  April 
20,    1898,   thus: 

"That  the  United  States  hereby  disclaims  any 
disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty, 
jurisdiction,  or  control  over  said  Island  except  for 
the  pacification  thereof,  and  asserts  its  determination, 
when  that  is  accomplished,  to  leave  the  government 
and  control  of  the  Island  to  its  people." 

At  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1902, 
there  was  gathered  in  the  State  Apartment  of  the 
Palace  occupied  by  many  Spanish  Governors-General, 
the  officials  of  the  United  States,  the  elected 
officials  of  the  new  Cuban  Republic,  and  a  limited 
number  of  guests.  In  that  same  apartment.  General 
Castellanos  signed  the  abdication  of  Spanish  author- 
ity.    In  its  turn,  pursuant  to  its  pledges,  the  United 


INDEPENDENCE  183 

States  transferred  authority  to  the  President  of  the 
Cuban  Repubhc.  Four  centuries  of  subjecflion,  and 
a  century  of  protest  and  struggle,  were  there  and  then 
ended,  and  Cuba  joined  the  sisterhood  of  independent 
nations. 


XI 

FILIBUSTERING 


^HE  term  "filibuster'^  affords  an  interesting 
example  of  the  way  in  which  words  and  their 
uses  become  twisted  into  something  alto- 
gether different  from  their  original  meaning.  It 
comes  from  a  Dutch  word,  several  centuries  old, 
vrijhuiter,  or  free  vessel  or  boat.  It  got  somehow 
into  English  as  "freebooter,"  and  into  Spanish  as 
filibustero.  The  original  referred  to  piracy.  Two  or 
three  centuries  later,  it  meant  an  engagement  in 
unauthorized  and  illegal  warfare  against  foreign 
States,  in  effed:,  piratical  invasions.  In  time,  it 
came  into  use  to  describe  the  supply  of  military 
material  to  revolutionists,  and  finally  to  obstrud:ion 
in  legislative  proceedings.  In  his  message  of  June 
13,  1870,  President  Grant  said  that  "the  duty  of 
opposition  to  filibustering  has  been  admitted  by  every 
President.  Washington  encountered  the  efforts  of 
Genet  and  the  French  revolutionists;  John  Adams, 
the  projedls  of  Miranda;  Jefferson,  the  schemes  of 
Aaron  Burr.  Madison  and  subsequent  Presidents 
had  to  deal  with  the  question  of  foreign  enlistment 
and  equipment  in  the  United  States,  and  since  the 
days  of  John  Quincy  Adams  it  has  been  one  of  the 


FILIBUSTERING  185 

constant  cares  of  the  Government  in  the  United 
States  to  prevent  piratical  expeditions  against  the 
feeble  Spanish  American  Republics  from  leaving  our 
shores." 

In  1806,  Francisco  Miranda,  a  Venezuelan  patriot 
whose  revolutionary  adlivities  preceded  those  of 
Simon  Bolivar,  sailed  from  New  York  on  what  would 
have  been  called,  some  years  later,  a  filibustering 
expedition.  His  three  vessels  were  manned  chiefly 
by  Americans.  There  are  always  those  whose  love 
of  excitement  and  adventure,  sometimes  mixed  with 
an  adlive  sympathy  for  an  under  dog,  leads  them 
to  engage  in  such  an  enterprise.  This  one  was 
productive  of  no  important  results.  There  were 
plenty  of  American  pirates  and  privateers  in  earlier 
days,  but  I  have  found  no  record  of  any  earlier 
adlual  expedition  whose  purpose  was  the  creation  of 
a  new  republic.  But  during  the  next  hundred 
years,  including  the  considerable  number  of  Ameri- 
cans who  have  engaged  in  the  present  disorder  in 
Mexico,  such  enterprises  have  been  numerous. 
Among  the  most  notable  are  the  several  Lopez 
expeditions  to  Cuba,  about  1850,  and  the  Walker 
expeditions  to  Lower  California,  Nicaragua,  and 
Honduras,  a  few  years  later.  The  steamer  Firginius, 
to  which  reference  is  made  in  another  chapter,  was 
engaged  in  filibustering  when  she  was  captured,  in 
1873,  and  many  of  her  crew  and  passengers  unlawfully 
executed,  by  Spanish  authority,  in  Santiago.  But 
that  was  only  one  of  many  similar  enterprises  during 


1 86  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

the  Ten  Years'  War  in  Cuba.  It  is  very  doubtful 
if  the  war  could  have  continued  as  it  did  without 
them.  During  our  own  Civil  War,  we  called  such 
industries  "blockade-running,"  but  it  was  all  quite 
the  same  sort  of  thing.  The  Confederate  army 
needed  arms,  ammunition,  medicine,  and  supplies 
of  many  kinds.  On  April  19,  1861,  President  Lincoln 
proclaimed  a  blockade  of  the  ports  of  the  seceded 
States,  with  a  supplementary  proclamation  on  the 
27th  that  completed  the  line,  and  thus  tied  the 
South  hand  and  foot.  In  his  History  of  the  United 
States,  Elson  notes  that  raw  cotton  could  be  bought  in 
Southern  ports  for  four  cents  a  pound  while  it  was 
worth  $2.50  a  pound  in  Liverpool,  and  that  a  ton 
of  salt  worth  seven  or  eight  dollars  in  Nassau,  a  few 
miles  off  the  coast,  was  worth  $1700  in  gold  in 
Richmond  before  the  close  of  the  war,  all  because 
of  the   blockade. 

There  is,  naturally,  a  lack  of  detail  regarding  the 
many  expeditions,  large  and  small,  of  the  Ten  Years' 
War,  but  they  began  soon  after  the  opening  of  hostil- 
ities. In  his  Diary,  Gideon  Welles  notes,  under 
date  of  April  7,  1869,  the  prevalence  of  "rumors 
of  illegal  expeditions  fitting  out  in  our  country  to 
aid  the  Cuban  insurgents,"  and  states  that  "our 
countrymen  are  in  sympathy  with  them."  In  Decem- 
ber, of  that  year.  President  Grant  reported  that  a 
number  of  illegal  expeditions  had  been  broken  up, 
but  did  not  refer  to  those  that  had  succeeded.  In 
Odlober,     1870,    he    issued    a    general    proclamation, 


FILIBUSTERING  187 

without  specific  reference  to  Cuba,  warning  all  per- 
sons against  engagement  in  such  expeditions.  During 
the  years  of  the  war,  Spanish  warships,  at  different 
times,  seized  American  vessels,  a  proceeding  which 
led  to  some  acflive  diplomatic  negotiation,  and  which, 
on  several  occasions,  threatened  to  involve  this 
country  in  war  with  Spain.  The  problem  of  the 
industry  variously  known  as  filibustering,  blockade- 
running,  gun-running,  and  the  shipment  of  contra- 
band, has  two  ends.  There  is,  first,  the  task  of  getting 
the  shipment  out  of  one  country,  and,  second,  the 
task  of  getting  it  into  another  country.  While  it 
is  generally  classed  as  an  unlawful  enterprise,  there 
frequently  arises  a  difficulty  in  proving  violation  of 
law,  even  when  goods  are  seized  and  the  participants 
arrested.  There  is,  perhaps,  a  moral  question  in- 
volved also.  Such  shipments  may  be  a  violation  of 
the  law.  They  are  generally  so  regarded.  But  they 
may  be,  as  in  the  case  of  the  struggling  Cubans, 
struggling  against  acflual  and  generally  admitted 
wrongs,  the  only  means  of  serving  a  worthy  and 
commendable  end.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  in  Cuba's 
revolution  of  1895,  Americans  who  knew  about  the 
work  were  prone  to  regard  a  successful  expedition 
to  the  island  with  satisfa(5lion  if  not  with  glee.  They 
were  inclined  to  regard  those  engaged  as  worthy 
patriots    rather    than    as    law-breakers. 

Under  date  of  February  23,  1898,  the  House  of 
Representatives  requested  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury to  inform  that  body  "at  the  earliest  date  pracfli- 


1 88  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

cable,  if  not  incompatible  with  the  public  service, 
what  has  been  done  by  the  United  States  to  prevent 
the  conveyance  to  the  Cubans  of  articles  produced 
in  the  United  States,  and  what  to  prevent  *fiKbuster- 
ing,'  and  with  what  results,  giving  particulars,  and 
at  what  expense  to  the  United  States."  A  reply 
was  sent  on  the  28th.  It  makes  a  very  good  showing 
for  the  activities  of  the  officials  responsible  for  the 
prevention  of  such  expeditions,  but  from  all  I  can 
learn  about  the  matter,  it  is  quite  incomplete.  There 
were  a  number  of  excursions  not  set  down  in  the 
official  records.  Saihng  dates  and  time  and  place 
of  arrival  were  not  advertised  in  the  daily  papers. 

The  official  statement  shows  that  sixty  reports  of 
alleged  filibustering  expeditions  were  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  Treasury  Department;  that 
twenty-eight  of  them  were  frustrated  through  efforts 
of  the  Department;  that  five  were  frustrated  by  the 
United  States  Navy;  four  by  Spain;  two  wrecked; 
one  driven  back  by  storm;  one  failed  through  a 
combination  of  causes;  and  seventeen  that  may  be 
regarded  as  successful  expeditions.  The  records  of 
the  Cuban  junta  very  materially  increase  the  number 
in  the  latter  class.  The  despatch  of  these  expeditions 
was  a  three-cornered  battle  of  wits.  The  groups 
engaged  were  the  officials  of  the  United  States,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  Spain,  and  the  agents  of  the  revolu- 
tion. The  United  States  employed  the  revenue  service 
and  the  navy,  aided  on  land  by  the  Customs  Service, 
the     Secret     Service,     and      other     Federal    officers. 


FILIBUSTERING  189 

The  official  representatives  of  Spain  employed 
scores  of  detecflives  and  Spanish  spies.  The  Cuban 
group  sought  to  outwit  them  all,  and  succeeded 
remarkably  well  in  doing  so.  A  part  of  the  story  has 
been  told,  with  general  correctness,  in  a  little  volume 
entitled  A  Captain  Unafraid,  described  as  The  Strange 
Adventures  of  Dynamite  Johnny  O'Brien.  This  man, 
really  a  remarkable  man  in  his  special  line,  was  born 
in  New  York,  in  1837,  and,  at  the  time  this  is  written, 
is  still  living.  He  was  born  and  grew  to  boyhood 
in  the  shadow  of  the  numerous  shipyards  then  in 
adlive  operation  along  the  East  River.  The  yards 
were  his  playground.  At  thirteen  years  of  age,  he 
ran  away  and  went  to  see  as  cook  on  a  fishing  sloop. 
He  admits  that  he  could  not  then  *'cook  a  pot  of 
water  without  burning  it,"  but  claims  that  he  could 
catch  cod-fish  where  no  one  else  could  find  them. 
From  fisherman,  sailing-master  on  private  yachts, 
schooner  captain,  and  officer  in  the  United  States 
Navy  in  the  Civil  War,  he  became  a  licensed  East 
River  pilot  in  New  York.  He  became  what  might 
be  called  a  professional  filibuster  at  the  time  of  the 
revolution  in  Colombia,  in  1885,  following  that  with 
similar  experience  in  a  revolt  in  Honduras  two  years 
later.  The  Cubans  landed  a  few  expeditions  in  1895, 
but  a  greater  number  were  blocked.  In  March, 
1896,  they  applied  to  O'Brien  and  engaged  him  to 
command  the  Bermuda,  then  lying  in  New  York  and 
ready  to  sail.  Captain  O'Brien  reports  that  her 
cargo   included  "2,500  rifles,  a  12-pounder   Hotchkiss 


190  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

field-gun,  1,500  revolvers,  200  short  carbines,  1000 
pounds  of  dynamite,  1,200  machetes,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  ammunition."  All  was  packed  in  boxes 
marked  "codfish,"  and  "medicines." 

The  Bermuda  sailed  the  next  morning,  March  15, 
with  O'Brien  in  command,  cleared  for  Vera  Cruz. 
The  Cubans,  including  General  Calixto  Garcia,  who 
were  to  go  on  the  expedition,  were  sent  to  Atlantic 
City,  there  to  engage  a  fishing  sloop  to  take  them 
ofF-shore  where  they  would  be  picked  up  by  the 
Bermuda  on  her  way.  The  ship  was  under  suspicion, 
and  was  followed  down  the  bay  by  tugboats  carrying 
United  States  marshals,  customs  ofl&cers,  and  news- 
paper reporters.  O'Brien  says:  "They  hung  on  to 
us  down  through  the  lower  bay  and  out  past  Sandy 
Hook,  without  getting  enough  to  pay  for  a  pound 
of  the  coal  they  were  furiously  burning  to  keep  up 
with  us.  I  don't  know  how  far  they  might  have 
followed  us,  but  when  we  were  well  clear  of  the  Hook, 
a  kind  fortune  sent  along  a  blinding  snow-storm, 
which  soon  chased  them  back  home."  General 
Garcia  and  his  companions  were  picked  up  as  planned, 
and  that  part  of  the  enterprise  was  completed.  The 
vessel  was  on  its  way.  A  somewhat  roundabout 
route  was  taken  in  order  to  avoid  any  possible  over- 
hauling by  naval  or  revenue  ships.  The  point  seledled 
for  the  landing  was  a  little  harbor  on  the  north  coast 
about  thirty  miles  from  the  eastern  end  of  the  island. 
The  party  included  two  Cuban  pilots,  supposed  to 
know   the   coast   where   they   were   to   land.     One  of 


FILIBUSTERING  191 

them  proved  to  be  a  traitor  and  the  other,  O'Brien 
says,  "was  at  best  an  ignoramus."  The  traitor,  who, 
after  the  landing,  paid  for  his  offence  with  his  hfe,  tried 
to  take  them  into  the  harbor  of  Baracoa,  where  lay  five 
Spanish  warships.  But  O'Brien  knew  the  difference,  as 
shown  by  his  official  charts,  between  the  Cape  Maisi 
light,  visible  for  eighteen  miles,  and  the  Baracoa  light, 
visible  for  only  eight  miles,  and  kicked  the  pilot  off 
the  bridge.  The  landing  was  begun  at  half-past  ten 
at  night,  and  completed  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  with  five  Spanish  warships  barely  more 
than  five  miles  away.  The  United  States  Treasury 
Department  reported  this  expedition  as  "successful." 
The  vessel  then  proceeded  to  Honduras,  where  it  took 
on  a  cargo  of  bananas,  and  returned,  under  orders, 
to  Philadelphia,  the  home  city  of  its  owner,  Mr. 
John  D.  Hart.  Arrests  were  made  soon  after  the 
arrival,  including  Hart,  the  owner  of  the  vessel, 
O'Brien,  and  his  mate,  and  General  Emiho  Nunez 
who  accompanied  the  expedition  as  the  representative 
of  the  junta.  The  case  was  transferred  from  the 
courts  in  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  and  there  duly 
heard.  The  alleged  offenders  were  defended  by 
Horatio  Rubens,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  the  official  coun- 
sel of  the  junta.  One  of  the  grounds  of  the  defence 
was  that  the  defendants  might  be  guilty  of  smuggling 
arms  into  Cuba,  but  w^ith  that  offence  the  courts 
of  the  United  States  had  nothing  to  do.  The  jury 
disagreed.  The  indidments  were  held  over  the  heads 
of  the  members  of  the  group,  but  no  further  acftion 


192  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

was  taken,  and  two  or  three  years  later  the  case 
was  dismissed  by  order  of  the  Attorney  General 
of  the  United  States. 

This  expedition  fairly  illustrates  the  science  of 
filibustering  in  its  elementary  form,  a  clearance  with 
some  attendant  risk;  a  voyage  with  possibility  of 
interference  at  any  time;  and  a  landing  made  with 
still  greater  risk  and  danger  of  capture.  The  trip 
had  been  made  so  successfully  and  with  such  full 
satisfaction  to  the  promoters  that  the  junta  urged 
O'Brien  to  remain  with  them  as  long  as  there  should 
be  need  for  his  services,  and  he  agreed  to  do  so.  A 
department  of  expeditions  was  organized  under  the 
general  control  of  Emilio  Nunez,  with  O'Brien  as 
navigator.  Credit  for  the  numerous  successful  ex- 
peditions that  followed  lies  in  differing  degrees  with 
Nuiiez,  Palma,  Rubens,  O'Brien,  Hart,  Cartaya, 
and  others  less  well  known  in  connexion  with  the 
enterprises.  But  for  the  work  they  did,  the  risks 
they  ran,  Cuba's  revolution  must  have  failed.  All 
of  them  risked  jail  sentences,  and  some  of  them 
risked  their  lives  in  ways  perhaps  even  more  danger- 
ous than  fighting  in  the  field.  The  success  of  the 
Bermuda  expedition,  carried  out  by  what  may  be 
called  direct  evasion,  quite  seriously  disturbed  the 
authorities  in  this  country,  and  excited  them  to 
greater  precautions  and  wider  acflivity.  Whatever 
may  have  been  their  personal  feelings  in  the  matter, 
it  was  their  duty  to  see  that  the  laws  of  the  country 
were  enforced  as  far  as  they  could  be.     The  players 


FILIBUSTERING  193 

of  the  game  for  the  Cubans  met  the  new  adlivities 
with  compHcated  moves,  many  of  which  puzzled  the 
watching  officials,  and  landed  a  number  of  expedi- 
tions. Meanwhile,  minor  expeditions  continued.  The 
official  report  notes  that  on  March  12,  1896,  the 
Commodore,  a  100-ton  steamer,  sailed  from  Charleston 
with  men,  arms,  and  ammunition,  and  landed  them 
in  Cuba.  The  Laurada,  r  900-ton  steamer,  was 
reported  by  the  Spanish  Legation  as  having  sailed 
on  May  9,  meeting  three  tugs  and  two  lighters, 
off  the  coast,  from  which  were  transferred  men  and 
arms.  The  report  states  that  "some  of  the  men 
landed  in  Cuba,  but  the  larger  part  of  the  arms  and 
ammunition  was  thrown  into  the  sea,"  which  may  or 
may  not  have  been  the  case.  On  May  23,  the  tug 
Three  Friefids  left  Jacksonville,  took  on  men  and 
arms  from  two  small  vessels  waiting  outside,  and 
landed  all  in  Cuba.  A  month  later,  and  again  two 
months  later,  the  Three  Friends  repeated  the  trip 
from  Florida  ports.  On  June  17,  the  Commodore 
made   another  successful   trip   from   Charleston. 

While  these  and  other  minor  expeditions  were 
going  on,  the  department  of  expeditions  in  New 
York  was  busy  with  a  more  extensive  enterprise. 
An  order  was  placed  for  3000  rifles,  3,000,000  rounds 
of  ammunition,  3  12-pound  Hotchkiss  field-guns  and 
600  shells,  machetes,  and  several  tons  of  dynamite. 
The  steamer  Laurada  was  chartered,  and  the  ocean- 
going tug  Dauntless  was  bought  in  Brunswick,  Georgia. 
A   part  of   the  purchased  munitions  was   ordered  to 


194  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

New  York,  and  the  remainder,  two  car  loads,  shipped 
to  Jacksonville  by  express.  Ostensibly,  the  Laurada 
was  to  sail  from  Philadelphia  to  Jamaica  for  a  cargo 
of  fruit,  a  business  in  which  she  had  at  times  en- 
gaged. Her  ad:ual  instructions  were  to  proceed  to 
the  vicinity  of  Barnegat,  about  forty  miles  from 
New  York,  and  there,  at  sea,  await  orders.  The 
arms  and  ammunition  came  down  from  Bridgeport 
on  the  regular  boat  from  that  city,  and  were  left 
on  board  until  night.  There  was  no  particular  se- 
crecy about  the  shipment,  and  detedlives  followed  it. 
But  when,  at  dark,  the  big  gates  of  the  dock  were 
closed  and  locked  and  all  seemed  over  for  the  day, 
the  watchers  assumed  that  nothing  would  be  done 
until  the  next  day,  and  went  away.  But,  immediately 
after  their  departure,  a  big  lighter  slipped  quietly 
into  the  dock  across  the  wharf  from  the  Bridgeport 
boat,  a  swarm  of  men  appeared  and,  behind  the 
closed  gates,  in  the  semi-darkness  of  the  wharf, 
rushed  boxes  from  steamer  to  lighter.  The  work  was 
finished  at  midnight;  a  tug  shpped  up  and  attached 
a  hawser  to  the  lighter;  and  the  cargo  was  on  its 
way  to  Cuba.  Johnny  O'Brien  was  on  the  tug. 
The  Laurada  was  met  off  Barnegat,  as  arranged,  and 
the  cargo  and  about  fifty  Cubans  put  on  board  of 
her.  She  was  ordered  to  proceed  slowly  to  Navassa 
Island  where  the  Dauntless  would  meet  her.  General 
Nunez  and  O'Brien  returned  to  New  York  on  the 
tug,  and  while  the  detedlives  suspedled  that  something 
had  been  done,  they  had  no   clue  whatever  to  guide 


FILIBUSTERING  195 

them.     Nunez    and   O'Brien   started   immediately   for 
Charleston,     with     detedives     at     their     heels.     The 
Commodore,   a   tug   then   owned    by   the   Cubans,   lay 
in   the   harbor   of  that   city,    with    a    revenue   cutter 
standing   guard    over    her.     She    was    ordered    to    get 
up   steam   and  to   go   through   all   the  motions  of  an 
immediate  departure.     But  this  was   a  ruse  to  draw 
attention  away  from  the  adlual  operations.      Rubens, 
meanwhile,  had  gone  to  Jacksonville  where  he  busied 
himself   in    convincing    the    authorities    that   the    tug 
Three  Friends  was  about  to  get  away  with  an  expedition. 
With   one    revenue    cutter    watching    the   Commodore 
in    Charleston,    the    other    cutter    in    the    neighbor- 
hood   was    engaged    in    watching    the    Three    Friends 
in  Jacksonville,    thus   leaving   a   clear  coast   between 
those   cities.     In  Charleston  were  about  seventy-five 
Cubans     waiting    a    chance    to    get    to    the    island. 
O'Brien     states     that     about     twenty-five    detecflives 
were    following   their   party.     Late    in   the    afternoon 
of  August    13,   while   the    smoke  was    pouring    from 
the    funnels    of   the    Commodore,    the    regular    south- 
bound train  pulled  out  of  the  city.     Its  rear  car  was  a 
reserved  coach  carrying  the  Cuban  party,  numbering 
a  hundred  or  so.     Detectives  tried  to  enter,  but  were 
told  that  it  was  a  private  car,  which  it  was.     They 
went  along  in  the  forward  cars.     At  ten  o'clock  that 
night,  the  train  reached   Callahan,  where   the    Coast 
Line  crossed  the  Seaboard  Air  Line.     While  the  train 
was  halted  for  the  crossing,  that  rear  car  was  quietly 
uncoupled.     The  train  went  on,  detedtives  and  all. 


196  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  railroad  arrangements  were  efFecfled  through  the 
invaluable  assistance  of  Mr.  Alphonso  Fritot,  a  local 
railway  man  whose  authority  enabled  him  to  do  with 
trains  and  train  movement  whatever  he  saw  fit.  He 
was  himself  of  Cuban  birth,  though  of  French- 
American  parentage,  with  ample  reason,  both  personal 
and  patriotic,  for  serving  his  Cuban  friends,  and  his 
services  were  beyond  measure.  By  his  orders,  when 
that  train  with  its  band  of  detedlives  had  pulled  away 
for  Jacksonville,  an  engine  picked  up  the  detached 
car  and  ran  it  over  to  the  Coast  Line.  A  few  miles 
away,  it  collected  from  a  blind  siding  the  two  cars 
of  arms  and  ammunition  shipped  some  days  before, 
from  Bridgeport.  A  little  further  on,  the  line  crossed 
the  Satilla  River.  There  lay  the  Dauntless,  pur- 
chased by  Rubens.  Steam  was  up,  and  a  quick 
job  was  made  of  transferring  cargo  and  men  from 
train  to  boat.  Another  tug  brought  a  supply  of 
coal,  and  soon  after  sunrise  another  expedition  was 
on  its  way  to  Cuba.  All  this  may  be  very  immoral, 
but  some  who  were  on  the  expedition  have  told  me 
that  it  was  at  least  tremendously  exciting. 

On  August  17,  the  passengers  and  cargo  were 
landed  on  the  Cuban  coast,  near  Nuevitas.  The 
tug  then  proceeded  to  Navassa  Island  to  meet  the 
Laurada.  Half  of  the  men  and  half  of  the  cargo 
of  the  steamer  were  transferred  to  the  tug,  and  all 
were  safely  landed  in  a  little  cove  a  few  miles  west 
of  Santiago.  The  landing  was  made  in  broad  day- 
light.    There  were  a  number  of  Spanish  naval  vessels 


FILIBUSTERING  197 

in  Santiago  harbor,  and  the  city  itself  was  filled  with 
Spanish  troops.  The  tug  then  returned  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Lauradas  passengers  and  cargo,  all 
of  which  were  landed  a  few  days  later  at  the  place 
of  the  earlier  landing.  The  Laurada  went  on  to 
Jamaica  and  loaded  with  bananas,  with  which  she 
sailed  for  Charleston.  Arrests  were  made  as  a  result 
of  the  expedition,  and  the  owner  of  the  ship,  Mr. 
John  D.  Hart,  was  convidled  and  sentenced  to  sixteen 
months  in  the  penitentiary.  After  serving  four 
months  of  his  term,  a  pardon  was  secured.  He  is 
said  to  be  the  only  one,  out  of  all  those  engaged  in 
the  many  expeditions,  who  was  acftually  convidled, 
and  his  only  offence  was  the  chartering  of  his  ships 
to  the  Cuban  revolutionists.  The  Dauntless  was 
seized  on  her  return  to  Jacksonville,  but  was  soon 
released.  An  effort  was  made  to  indid:  O'Brien, 
but  there  was  too  much  sympathy  for  the  Cubans 
in  Florida,  where  the  effort  was  made.  A  number 
of  minor  expeditions  were  carried  out  in  the  next 
few  months,  by  the  Dauntless,  the  Three  Friends, 
and  the  Commodore,  the  latter  being  wrecked  in  the 
last  week  in  December. 

In  February,  1897,  another  complicated  manoeuvre 
was  successfully  executed.  This  involved  the  use 
of  the  Bermuda,  the  Laurada,  and  no  less  than  seven 
smaller  auxilliary  vessels,  tugs,  lighters,  and  schooners. 
But  the  Laurada  landed  the  cargo  on  the  north- 
eastern coast  of  the  island.  As  O'Brien  tells  the 
story,  this  successful  expedition  so  angered  Captain- 


198  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

General  Weyler,  then  the  ruler  of  the  island,  that 
he  sent  a  message  to  the  daring  filibuster,  through 
an  American  newspaper  man,  somewhat  as  follows: 
*'Tell  O'Brien  that  we  will  get  him,  sooner  or  later, 
and  when  we  do,  instead  of  having  him  shot  along 
with  his  Cuban  companions,  I  am  going  to  have 
him  ignominiously  hanged  from  the  flag-pole  at 
Cabaiia,  in  full  view  of  the  city.''  Cabaiia  is  the 
old  fortress  across  the  bay,  visible  from  nearly  all 
parts  of  Havana.  To  this,  O'Brien  sent  reply  saying: 
"To  show  my  contempt  for  you  and  all  who  take 
orders  from  you,  I  will  make  a  landing  within  plain 
sight  of  Havana  on  my  next  trip  to  Cuba.  I  may 
even  land  an  expedition  inside  of  the  harbor  and  take 
you  away  a  prisoner.  If  we  should  capture  you, 
which  is  much  more  likely  than  that  you  will  ever 
capture  me,  I  will  have  you  chopped  up  into  small 
pieces  and  fed  to  the  fires  of  the  Dauntless.'^  A  few 
months  later,  this  little  Irishman,  whom  Weyler 
denounced  as  a  *' bloodthirsty,  dare-devil,"  and  who 
may  have  been  a  dare-devil  but  was  not  blood- 
thirsty, actually  carried  out  a  part  of  this  seemingly 
reckless  threat.  He  landed  a  cargo  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  Morro  Castle. 

By  this  time,  vessels  of  the  United  States  navy 
were  employed,  supplementing  the  work  of  the 
Revenue  Service.  This,  of  course,  added  both  difli- 
culty  and  danger  to  the  work.  In  March  and  April, 
several  expeditions  were  interrupted.  For  the  Span- 
ish   blockade   of  the    Cuban    coast,    there   was    only 


FILIBUSTERING  199 

contempt.  Captain  O'Brien  told  a  naval  officer  that 
if  the  navy  and  the  revenue  cutters  would  let  him 
alone  he  would  "advertise  the  time  and  place  of 
departure,  carry  excursions  on  every  trip,  and  guar- 
antee that  every  expedition  would  be  landed  on  time." 
In  May,  1897,  two  carloads  of  arms  and  ammunition 
were  shipped  from  New  York  to  Jacksonville,  but, 
by  the  authority  of  Mr.  Fritot,  they  were  quietly 
dropped  from  the  train  at  a  juncflion  point,  and  sent 
to  Wilmington,  N.  C.  Their  contents  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  tug  Alexander  Jones,  and  that  boat 
proceeded  nonchalantly  down  the  river.  Soon  after- 
ward, an  old  schooner,  the  John  D.  Long,  loaded 
with  coal,  followed  the  tug.  Two  revenue  cutters 
were  on  hand,  but  there  was  nothing  in  the  move- 
ments of  these  vessels  to  excite  their  interest.  Off 
shore,  the  tug  attached  a  towline  to  the  schooner 
that  was  carrying  its  coal  supply,  its  own  bunkers 
being  crammed  with  guns  and  cartridges.  Off  Palm 
Beach,  General  Nunez  and  some  sixty  Cubans  were 
taken  from  a  fishing  boat,  according  to  a  prearranged 
plan.  Two  days  later,  at  an  agreed  upon  place,  they 
were  joined  by  the  Dauntless  which  had  slipped  out 
of  Jacksonville.  The  excursion  was  then  complete. 
About  half  the  cargo  of  the  Jones  was  transferred  to 
the  Dauntless  and  was  landed,  May  21,  a  few  miles 
east  of  Nuevitas.  A  second  trip  took  the  remainder 
of  the  cargo  of  the  Jones  and  most  of  the  Cuban 
passengers,  and  landed  the  lot  under  the  very  guns, 
such    as    they    were,    of    Morro    Castle,    and    within 


200  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

about  three  miles  of  the  Palace  of  Captain-General 
Weyler.  All  that  time,  a  force  of  insurgents  under 
Rodriguez  and  Aurenguren  was  operating  in  that 
immediate  vicinity,  and  was  in  great  need  of  the 
supplies  thus  obtained.  Some  of  the  dynamite  then 
landed  was  used  the  next  day  to  blow  up  a  train  on 
which  Weyler  was  supposed  to  be  travelhng,  but  in 
their  haste  the  Cubans  got  one  train  ahead  of  that 
carrying  the  official  party.  The  row  that  Weyler 
made  about  this  landing  will  probably  never  be  for- 
gotten by  the  subordinates  who  were  the  immediate 
victims  of  his  rage. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  expeditions, 
successful  and  unsuccessful,  made  during  those  three 
eventful  years.  The  Treasury  Department  report 
of  February  28,  1898,  gives  seventeen  successful 
operations.  As  a  matter  of  fad:,  more  than  forty 
landings  were  made,  although  in  a  few  cases  a  single 
expedition  accounted  for  two,  and  in  one  or  two 
instances  for  three  landings.  The  experiences  run 
through  the  entire  gamut  of  human  emotions,  from 
absurdity  to  tragedy.  The  former  is  illustrated  by  the 
case  of  the  Dauntless  when  she  was  held  up  by 
a  vessel  of  the  United  States  navy,  and  boarded  by 
one  of  the  officers  of  the  ship.  He  examined  the 
tug  from  stem  to  stern,  sat  on  boxes  of  ammunition 
which  seemed  to  him  to  be  boxes  of  sardines,  stumbled 
over  packages  of  rifles  from  which  butts  and  muzzles 
protruded;  and  failed  utterly  to  find  anything  that 
could  be  regarded  as  contraband.     The  mere  fad:  that 


FILIBUSTERING  201 

a  vessel  is  engaged  in  transporting  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion does  not,  of  necessity,  bring  it  within  reach  of 
the  law.  But  that  particular  vessel  was  a  good  deal 
more  than  under  suspicion;  it  was  under  the  closest 
surveillance  and  open  to  the  sharpest  scrutiny.  The 
temporary  myopia  of  that  particular  lieutenant  of 
the  United  States  navy  was  no  more  than  an  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  a  well-developed  sense  of  humor, 
and  an  indication  of  at  least  a  personal  sympathy 
for  the  Cubans  in  their  struggle.  Tragedy  is  illus- 
trated by  the  disaster  to  the  steamer  Tillie.  One 
day,  late  in  January,  1898,  this  vessel,  lying  off  the 
end  of  Long  Island,  took  on  one  of  the  largest  car- 
goes ever  started  on  a  filibustering  expedition  to 
Cuba.  The  cause  is  not  known,  but  soon  after 
starting  a  leak  developed,  beyond  the  capacity  of 
the  pumps.  A  heavy  sea  was  running,  and  disaster 
was  soon  inevitable.  The  cargo  was  thrown  over- 
board to  lighten  the  ship  and  the  vessel  was  headed 
for  the  shore  on  the  chance  that  it  might  float  until 
it  could  be  beached.  The  water  in  the  ship  in- 
creased rapidly,  and  extinguished  the  fires  under  the 
boilers;  the  wind,  blowing  a  high  gale,  swung  into 
the  northwest,  thus  driving  the  now  helpless  hulk 
out  to  sea.  Huge  combing  waves  swept  the  decks 
from  end  to  end.  O'Brien  tells  the  story:  "We 
looked  in  vain  for  another  craft  of  any  kind,  and  by 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  it  seemed  as  though  it 
was  all  up  with  us,  for  there  was  not  much  daylight 
left,    and    with    her   deck    almost    awash    it   was    im- 


202  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

possible  that  the  Tillie  should  keep  afloat  all  night. 
The  gale  had  swept  us  rapidly  out  to  sea.  The 
wind,  which  was  filled  with  icy  needles,  had  kicked 
up  a  wild  cross-sea,  and  it  was  more  comfortable  to 
go  down  with  the  ship  than  even  to  think  of  trying 
to  escape  in  the  boats."  At  last,  when  there  seemed 
no  longer  any  hope  of  rescue,  the  big  five-masted 
schooner  Governor  Ames  came  plunging  through  the 
heaving  seas,  and,  by  masterly  seamanship  and  good 
fortune,  backed  by  the  heroism  of  her  commander 
and  crew,  succeeded  in  taking  off  all  except  four, 
who  went  down  with  the  ship.  But  the  work  went 
on.  There  is  not  space  here  to  tell  of  the  several 
vessels  whose  names,  through  the  engagement  of  the 
craft  in  these  enterprises,  became  as  familiar  to 
newspaper  readers  as  are  the  names  of  ocean  liners 
today.  A  few  months  later,  the  United  States 
Government  sent  its  ships  and  its  men  to  help  those 
who,  for  three  hard  years,  had  struggled  for  national 
independence. 


XII 

THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR 

|HEMICALLY,  sugar  is  a  compound  belonging 
to  the  group  of  carbohydrates,  or  organic 
compounds  of  carbon  with  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen. The  group  includes  sugars,  starches,  gums, 
and  celluloses.  Sugar  is  a  produd  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  of  plants,  trees,  root  crops,  etc.  It  is 
found  in  and  is  producible  from  many  growths.  As 
a  laboratory  process,  it  is  obtainable  from  many 
sources,  but,  commercially,  it  is  derived  from  only- 
two,  the  sugar  cane  and  the  beet  root.  This  state- 
ment, however,  has  a  certain  Hmitation  in  that  it 
omits  such  produds  as  maple  sugar,  malt  sugar, 
milk  sugar,  and  others  having  commercial  or  chemical 
uses  on  a  Hmited  scale.  But  it  is  only  with  the  crys- 
taUized  sucrose,  the  famihar  sugar  of  the  market  and 
the  household,  that  we  are  dealing  here.  The  output 
of  the  other  sugars  is  measurable  in  hundreds  or  even 
thousands  of  pounds,  but  the  output  of  the  sugar 
of  commerce  is  measured  in  millions  of  tons.  Long 
experience  proves  that  the  desired  substance  is  most 
readily,  most  abundantly,  and  most  cheaply,  obtained 
from  the  juices  of  the  plant  commonly  known  as 
sugar  cane,  and  from  the  vegetable  known  as  the 
sugar   beet. 


204  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  mechanical  processes  employed  in  producing 
sugar  from  cane  and  from  beets,  are  pradlically  the 
same.  They  are,  broadly,  the  extradlion  or  expression 
of  the  juices,  their  clarification  and  evaporation,  and 
crystallization.  These  processes  produce  what  is 
called  "raw  sugar,"  of  varying  percentages  of  sucrose 
content.  Following  them,  there  comes,  for  American 
uses,  the  process  of  refining,  of  removing  the  so- 
called  impurities  and  foreign  substances,  and  the 
final  producflion  of  sugar  in  the  shape  of  white  crys- 
tals of  different  size,  of  sugar  as  powdered,  cube, 
loaf,  or  other  form.  In  the  case  of  cane  sugar,  this 
is  usually  a  secondary  operation  not  conducted  in  the 
original  mill.  In  the  case  of  beet  sugar,  produdlion 
is  not  infrequently  a  continuous  operation  in  the 
same  mill,  from  the  beet  root  to  the  bagged  or  bar- 
relled sugar  ready  for  the  market.  The  final  produdl 
from  both  cane  and  beet  is  pradlically  the  same. 
Pure  sugar  is  pure  sugar,  whatever  its  source.  In 
the  commercial  produ(5lion,  on  large  scale,  there 
remains  a  small  fradlion  of  molasses  or  other  harmless 
substances,  indistinguishable  by  sight,  taste,  or  smell. 
With  that  fracftion  removed  and  an  absolute  lOO 
per  cent,  secured,  there  would  be  no  way  by  which 
the  particular  origin  could  be  determined.  For  all 
prad:ical  purposes,  the  sugar  of  commerce,  v/hether 
from  cane  or  beet,  is  pure  sugar.  It  is  doubtful  if 
an  adulterated  sugar  can  be  found  in  the  United 
States,  notwithstanding  the  tales  of  the  grocer  who 
"sands"   his   sugar,    and   of  the   producer  who    adds 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  205 

terra  alba  or  some  other  adulterant.  In  some  coun- 
tries of  Europe  and  elsewhere,  there  are  sugars  of 
inferior  grades,  of  85  or  90  or  more  degrees  of  sugar 
purity,  but  they  are  known  as  such  and  are  sold  at 
prices  adjusted  to  their  quality.  Sugars  of  that  class 
are  obtainable  in  this  country,  but  they  are  wanted 
almost  exclusively  for  particular  industrial  purposes, 
for  their  glucose  rather  than  their  sucrose  content. 
The  American  household,  whether  the  home  of  the 
rich  or  of  the  poor,  demands  the  well-known  white 
sugar  of  established  purity. 

There  is  still  obtainable,  in  this  country,  but  in 
limited  quantity,  a  sugar  very  pleasantly  remembered 
by  many  who  have  reached  or  passed  middle  age. 
It  was  variously  known  as  ** Muscovado"  sugar,  or 
as  "plantation  sugar,"  sometimes  as  "coffee"  or 
"coffee  crushed."  It  was  a  sugar  somewhat  sweeter 
to  the  taste  than  the  white  sugar,  by  reason  of  the 
presence  of  a  percentage  of  molasses.  It  was  a 
superior  sugar  for  certain  kitchen  produdls,  for 
pies,  certain  kinds  of  cake,  etc.  It  has  many  times 
been  urged  in  Congress  that  the  employment  of  what 
is  known  as  the  Dutch  Standard,  now  abolished, 
excluded  this  sugar  from  our  market.  This  is  not  at 
all  the  fadl.  The  disappearance  of  the  commodity 
is  due  solely  to  change  in  the  mechanical  methods 
of  sugar  producflion.  It  would  be  quite  impossible 
to  supply  the  world's  sugar  demand  by  the  old 
"open  kettle"  process  by  which  that  sugar  was  made. 
The  quality  of  sugar  is  easily  tested  by  any  one  who 


2o6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

has  a  spoonful  of  sugar  and  a  glass  of  water.  If 
the  sugar  dissolves  entirely,  and  dissolves  without 
discoloring  the  water,  it  may  be  accepted  as  a  pure 
sugar. 

In  his  book  on  The  World^s  Cane  Sugar  Industry  — 
Past  and  Present,  Mr.  H.  C.  Prinsen  Geerligs,  a 
recognized  expert  authority  on  the  subjedl,  gives  an 
elaborate  history  of  the  origin  and  development  of 
the  industry.  His  chapters  on  those  branches  are 
much  too  long  for  inclusion  in  full,  but  the  following 
extradls  tell  the  story  in  general  outline.  He  states 
that  the  probability  that  sugar  cane  originally  came 
from  India  is  very  strong,  "as  only  the  ancient 
literature  of  that  country  mentions  sugar  cane,  while 
we  know  for  certain  that  it  was  conveyed  (from  there) 
to  other  countries  by  travellers  and  sailors."  The 
plant  appears  in  Hindu  mythology.  A  certain 
prince  expressed  a  desire  to  be  translated  to  heaven 
during  his  lifetime,  but  Indra,  the  monarch  of  the 
celestial  regions,  refused  to  admit  him.  A  famous 
Hindu  hermit,  Vishva  Mitra,  prepared  a  temporary 
paradise  for  the  prince,  and  for  his  use  created  the 
sugar  cane  as  a  heavenly  food  during  his  occupation 
of  the  place.  The  abode  was  afterward  demoHshed, 
but  the  dele(5lable  plant,  and  a  few  other  luxuries, 
were  "spread  all  over  the  land  of  mortals  as  a  perma- 
nent memorial  of  Vishva  Mitra's  miraculous  deeds." 
In  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  (356-323  B.C.) 
there  appear  tales  of  "a  reed  growing  in  India  which 
produced  honey  without  the  aid  of  bees." 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  207 

The  early  references  are  to  sugar  cane  and  not  to 
cane  sugar.  While  there  may  have  been  earlier  ex- 
periences, the  history  of  sugar,  as  such,  seems  to 
begin  in  the  7th  century  (a.d.).  There  is  a  story 
that  the  Chinese  Emperor,  Tai  Tsung  (627-650  a.d.) 
sent  people  to  Behar,  in  India,  to  learn  the  art  of 
sugar  manufadlure.  The  Arabs  and  the  Egyptians 
soon  learned  how  to  purify  sugar  by  re-crystalliza- 
tion, and  to  manufadlure  sweetmeats  from  the  puri- 
fied sugar.  Marco  Polo,  who  visited  China  during 
the  last  quarter  of  the  13th  Century,  refers  to  *'a 
great  many  sugar  factories  in  South  China,  where 
sugar  could  be  freely  bought  at  low  prices."  The 
Mohammedan  records  of  that  period  also  show  the 
manufadlure,  in  India,  of  crystallized  sugar  and 
candy.  The  area  of  produdlion  at  that  time  covered, 
generally,  the  entire  Mediterranean  coast.  The  cru- 
saders found  extensive  plantations  in  Tripoli,  Mesopo- 
tamia, Palestine,  Syria,  and  elsewhere.  The  plant 
is  said  to  have  been  introduced  in  Spain  as  early 
as  the  year  755.  Its  cultivation  is  said  to  have  been 
a  flourishing  industry  there  in  the  year  11 50. 
Through  China,  it  was  early  extended  to  Japan, 
Formosa,  and  the  PhiHppines.  The  records  of  the 
14th  Century  show  the  production  and  distribution 
of  sugar  as  an  important  commercial  enterprise  in 
the  Mediterranean  region.  The  Portuguese  discov- 
eries of  the  15th  Century  carried  the  plant  to  the 
Azores,  the  Cape  Verde  islands,  and  to  possessions  in 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea.     The  Spaniards  took  it  to  the 


2o8  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Western  Hemisphere  in  the  early  years  of  the  i6th 
Century.  The  Portuguese  took  it  to  Brazil  at  about 
the  same  time.  While  a  Chinese  traveller,  visiting 
Java  in  424,  reports  the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane, 
it  was  not  until  more  than  twelve  hundred  years 
later  that  the  island,  now  an  important  source  of 
sugar  supply,  began  the  produ(5lion  of  sugar  as  a 
commercial  enterprise.  By  the  end  of  the  i8th 
Century  there  was  what  might  be  called  a  sugar 
belt,  girdling  the  globe  and  extending,  roughly, 
from  thirty-five  degrees  north  of  the  equator  to 
thirty-five  degrees  south  of  that  line.  It  was  then 
a  produdl  of  many  of  the  countries  within  those 
limits.  The  supply  of  that  time  was  obtained  entirely 
from  cane. 

The  early  years  of  the  19th  Century  brought  a  new 
experience  in  the  sugar  business.  That  was  the 
production  of  sugar,  in  commercial  quantities,  from 
beets.  From  that  time  until  now,  the  commodity 
has  been  a  political  shuttlecock,  the  objedl  of  govern- 
ment bounties  and  the  subjed:  of  taxation.  In 
1747,  Herr  Marggraf,  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences, 
in  Berlin,  discovered  the  existence  of  crystallizable 
sugar  in  the  juice  of  the  beet  and  other  roots.  No 
practical  use  was  made  of  the  discovery  until  1801 
when  a  fadlory  was  established  near  Breslau,  in  Silesia. 
The  European  beet-sugar  industry,  that  has  since 
attained  enormous  proportions,  had  its  adlual  be- 
ginning in  the  early  years  of  the  19th  Century.  It 
was  a  result  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  of  that  period. 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  209 

When  the  wars  were  ended,  and  the  blockades  raised, 
the  industry  was  continued  in  France  by  the  aid  of 
premiums,  differentials,  and  pradlically  prohibitory 
tariffs.  The  adlivities  in  other  European  countries 
under  similar  conditions  of  governmental  aid,  came 
a  little  later.  The  total  world  supply  of  sugar, 
including  cane  and  beet,  less  than  1,500,000  tons, 
even  as  recently  as  1850,  seems  small  in  comparison 
with  the  world's  requirement  of  about  twelve  times 
that  quantity  at  the  present  time.  The  output  of 
beet  sugar  was  then  only  about  200,000  tons,  as 
compared  with  a  present  production  of  approximately 
8,000,000  tons.  But  sugar  was  then  a  costly  luxury 
while  it  is  today  a  cheaply  supplied  household  neces- 
sity. As  recently  as  1870,  the  wholesale  price  of 
granulated  sugar  in  New  York  was  thirteen  and  a 
half  cents  a  pound,  or  about  three  times  the  present 
average. 

Cane  sugar  is  produced  in  large  or  small  quantities 
in  some  fifty  different  countries  and  islands.  In 
many,  the  output  is  only  for  domestic  consumption, 
or  in  quantity  too  small  to  warrant  inclusion  in  the 
list  of  sources  of  commercial  supply.  Sixteen  coun- 
tries are  included  in  the  list  of  beet-sugar  producers. 
Of  these,  all  are  in  Europe  with  the  exception  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada.  Only  two  countries, 
the  United  States  and  Spain,  produce  sugar  from 
both  beet  and  cane.  British  India  leads  in  the  pro- 
duction of  cane  sugar,  with  Cuba  a  close  second  on 
the    list,   and    Java  the    third.     In    their  total,  these 


210  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

three  countries  supply  about  two-thirds  of  the  world's 
total  output  of  cane  sugar.     Hawaii  and  Porto  Rico, 
in   that   order,   stand   next   on   the   list   of  producers. 
Under    normal    conditions,    Germany    leads  in    beet- 
sugar   produdion,   with    Russia   second,   Austria-Hun- 
gary   third,    France    fourth,    and    the    United    States 
fifth,  with   Belgium,  the  Netherlands,  Italy,  Sweden, 
and    Denmark    following.     The    island    of    Cuba    is 
the  most  important  source  of  commercial  cane  sugar. 
Immediately  before  the  revolution  of  1895,  its  output 
a   little   exceeded    a   million   tons.     The   derangement 
caused    by    that    experience    covered    several    years, 
and  it  was  not  until   1903   that  so  large  a  crop  was 
again  made.     Since  that  time,  the  output  has  more 
than   doubled.     The   increase   is    attributable   to    the 
large  increase  in  demand  in  the  United   States,  and 
to  the  advantage  given  Cuban  sugar  in  this  market 
by    the    reciprocity    treaty    of    1903.     Pradlically    all 
of  Cuba's   export   produd:  is   in   the  class   commonly 
known  as   96  degree  centrifugals,  that  is,  raw  sugar 
of   96    per    cent,    or    thereabout,    of    sugar    content. 
Under  normal  conditions,  nearly  all  of  Cuba's  ship- 
ments are  to  the  United  States.     The  sugar  industry 
was  introduced  in  Cuba  very  soon  after  the  permanent 
settlement  of  the  island,  by  Spaniards,   in  the  early 
years  of  the  i6th  Century,  but  it  was  not  until  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  later  that  Spain's  restricffcive 
and    oppressive   colonial    policy    made    even    its    fair 
extension  possible.     In  1760,  two  and  a  half  centuries 
after   the   first   settlement,   the   sugar   exports   of  the 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  211 

island  were  a  little  less  than  4,400  tons.  In  1790, 
they  were  a  little  more  than  14,000  tons.  Some  re- 
laxation of  the  laws  regulating  produdlion  and  exporta- 
tion, made  possible  an  increase  to  41,000  tons  in 
1802,  and  further  relaxation  made  possible,  in  1850, 
an  output  somewhat  unreliably  reported  as  223,000 
tons.  It  reached  632,000  tons  in  1890,  and  the 
stimulus  of  the  "free  sugar"  schedule  of  the  United 
States  brought  it,  in  the  next  few  years,  to  more  than 
a  million  tons.  Production  in  recent  years  has 
averaged   about  2,500,000  tons. 

In  forty  years,  only  a  little  more  than  a  single 
generation,  the  world's  supply  of  sugar  has  been 
multiplied  by  five,  from  a  little  more  than  three 
million  tons  a  year  to  nearly  eighteen  million  tons. 
The  total  world  output  in  1875  would  not  today  sup- 
ply the  demand  of  the  United  States  alone.  This 
increase  in  producflion  has  been  made  possible  by 
improvements  in  the  methods  and  the  machinery 
of  manufacflure.  Until  quite  recently,  primitive  meth- 
ods were  employed,  much  like  those  used  in  the 
production  of  maple  sugar  on  the  farm,  although  on 
larger  scale.  More  attention  has  been  paid  to  vari- 
eties of  the  plant  and  some,  though  no  very  great, 
change  has  been  made  in  field  processes.  In  Cuba, 
the  cane  is  planted  in  vast  areas,  in  thousands  of 
acres.  Some  of  the  estates  plant  and  cultivate  their 
own  fields,  and  grind  the  cane  in  their  own  m.ills. 
Others,  known  as  ^'colonos/^  are  planters  only,  the 
crop  being  sold  to  the  mills  commonly  called  "c^w- 


212  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

trales.^^  In  its  general  appearance,  a  field  of  sugar- 
cane looks  quite  like  a  field  of  corn,  but  the  method 
of  cultivation  is  somewhat  different.  The  slow 
oxen  are  still  commonly  used  for  plowing  and  for 
carts.  This  is  not  because  of  any  lack  of  progressive 
spirit,  but  because  experience  has  shown  that,  under 
all  conditions  of  the  industry,  the  ox  makes  the 
most  satisfactory  and  economical  motive  power, 
notwithstanding  his   lack  of  pace. 

The  Encyclopaedia  describes  sugar-cane  as  "a 
member  of  the  grass  family,  known  botanically  as 
Saccharum  officinarum.  It  is  a  tall,  perennial  grass- 
like plant,  giving  off  numerous  erecfl  stems  6  to  12 
feet  or  more  in  height,  from  a  thick  solid  jointed 
root-stalk."  The  ground  is  plowed  in  rows  in  which, 
not  seed,  but  a  stalk  of  cane  is  lightly  buried.  The 
rootlets  and  the  new  cane  spring  from  the  joints 
of  the  planted  stalk  which  is  laid  flat  and  lengthwise 
of  the  row.  It  takes  from  a  year  to  a  year  and  a  half 
for  the  stalk  to  mature  sufficiently  for  cutting  and 
grinding.  Several  cuttings,  and  sometimes  many, 
are  made  from  a  single  planting.  There  are  tales 
of  fields  on  which  cane  has  grown  for  forty  years 
without  re-planting.  A  few  years  ago,  ten  or  fifteen 
years  was  not  an  unusual  period.  The  present 
tendency  is  toward  more  frequent  planting,  but  not 
annual,  as  offering  a  better  chance  for  stronger  cane 
with  a  larger  sugar  content.  The  whole  process  of 
cultivation  and  field  treatment  is  hard,  heavy  work, 
most  of  it  very  hard  work.     Probably  the  hardest  and 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  213 

heaviest  is  the  cutting.  This  is  done  with  a  long, 
heavy-bladed  knife,  the  machete.  The  stalk,  from  an 
inch  to  two  inches  in  thickness,  is  chopped  down  near 
the  root,  the  heavy  knife  swung  with  cut  after  cut, 
under  a  burning  sun.  Only  the  strongest  can  stand 
it,  a  wearying,  back-breaking  task.  After  cutting, 
the  stalk  is  trimmed  and  loaded  on  carts  to  be  hauled, 
according  to  distance,  either  diredlly  to  the  mill  or 
to  the  railway  running  thereto.  The  large  estates 
have  their  own  railway  systems  running  to  all  the 
fields  of  the  plantation.  These  are  private  lines 
operated  only  for  economy  in  cane  transportation. 
Most  of  the  crushing  mills  measure  their  daily  con- 
sumption of  cane  in  thousands  of  tons.  While 
every  precaution  is  taken,  there  are  occasional  fires. 
In  planting,  wide  *^fire  lanes,"  or  uncultivated  strips 
are  left  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  if  it  occurs. 

Mill  installations  vary  on  the  different  plantations, 
but  the  general  principle  of  operation  is  the  same  on 
all.  The  first  process  is  the  extradlion  of  the  juice 
that  carries  the  sugar.  It  is  probable  that  this  was 
originally  done  in  hand  mortars.  Next  came  the 
passing  of  the  cane  between  wooden  rollers  turned 
by  ox  power,  the  rollers  standing  upright  and  con- 
nedled  with  a  projedling  shaft  or  beam  to  the  outer 
end  of  which  the  animal  was  attached,  to  plod 
around  and  around  while  the  cane  was  fed  between 
the  rollers.  The  present  system  is  merely  an  expan- 
sion of  that  old  principle.  At  the  mill,  the  stalks 
are  dumped,  by  carload  or  by  cartload,  into  a  chan- 


214  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

nel  through  which  they  are  mechanically  conveyed 
to  huge  rollers,  placed  horizontally,  arranged  in  pairs 
or  in  sets  of  three,  and  slowly  turned  by  powerful 
engines.  The  larger  mills  have  a  series  of  these  rollers, 
two,  three,  or  even  four  sets,  the  stalks  passing  from 
one  to  another  for  the  expression  of  every  possible 
drop  of  the  juice,  up  to  the  point  where  the  cost  of 
juice  extradlion  exceeds  the  value  of  the  juice  obtained. 
The  expressed  juices  are  colledled  in  troughs  through 
which  they  are  run  to  the  next  operation.  The 
crushed  stalks,  then  known  as  bagasse,  are  conveyed 
to  the  huge  boilers  where  they  are  used  as  fuel  for 
the  generation  of  the  steam  required  in  the  various 
operations,  from  the  feeding  and  the  turning  of  the 
rollers,  to  the  device  from  which  the  final  producft, 
the  crystallized  sugar,  is  poured  into  bags  ready  for 
shipment.  All  this  is  a  seasonal  enterprise.  The 
cane  grows  throughout  the  year,  but  it  begins  to 
ripen  in  December.  Then  the  mills  start  up  and  run 
until  the  rains  of  the  next  May  or  June  suspend 
further  operations.  It  then  becomes  impossible  to 
haul  the  cane  over  the  heavily  mired  roads  from  the 
muddy  fields.  Usually,  only  a  few  mills  begin  their 
work  in  December,  and  early  June  usually  sees  most 
of  them  shut  down.  The  beginning  of  the  rainy 
season  is  not  uniform,  and  there  are  mills  in  eastern 
Cuba  that  sometimes  run  into  July  and  even  into 
August.  But  the  general  grinding  season  may  be 
given  as  of  about  five  months  duration,  and  busy 
months  they  are.     The  work  goes  on  night  and  day. 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  215 

The  next  step  is  the  treatment  of  the  juices  ex- 
pressed by  the  rollers  and  collecfled  in  the  troughs 
that  carry  it  onward.  The  operations  are  highly 
technical,  and  different  methods  are  employed  in 
different  mills.  The  first  operation  is  one  of  puri- 
fication. The  juice,  as  it  comes  from  the  rollers, 
carries  such  materials  as  glucose,  salts,  organic  acids, 
and  other  impurities,  that  must  be  removed.  For 
this,  lime  is  the  principal  agent.  The  details  of  it 
all  would  be  as  tedious  here  as  they  are  complicated 
in  the  mill.  The  percentages  of  the  different  im- 
purities vary  with  the  variation  of  the  soils  in  which 
the  cane  is  grown.  The  next  step,  following  clarifi- 
cation, is  evaporation,  the  boihng  out  of  a  large 
percentage  of  the  water  carried  in  the  juice.  For 
this  purpose,  a  vacuum  system  is  used,  making  pos- 
sible a  more  rapid  evaporation  with  a  smaller  ex- 
penditure of  fuel.  These  two  operations,  clarification 
and  evaporation  by  the  use  of  the  vacuum,  are  merely 
improved  methods  for  doing,  on  a  large  scale,  what 
was  formerly  done  by  boiling  in  pans  or  kettles,  on 
a  small  scale.  That  method  is  still  used  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  and  even  in  the  United  States, 
in  a  small  way.  For  special  reasons,  it  is  still  used 
on  some  of  the  Louisiana  plantations;  it  is  common 
in  the  farm  production  of  sorghum  molasses  in  the 
South;  and  in  the  manufacture  of  maple  sugar  in 
the  North.  In  those  places,  the  juices  are  boiled 
in  open  pans  or  kettles,  the  impurities  skimmed  off 
as  they  rise,  and  the  boihng,  for  evaporation,  is  con- 


2i6  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

tinued  until  a  proper  consistency  is  reached,  for  mo- 
lasses in  the  case  of  sorghum  and  for  crystallization 
in  the  case  of  plantation  and  maple  sugars.  There 
is  an  old  story  of  an  erratic  New  England  trader,  in 
Newburyport,  who  called  himself  Lord  Timothy 
Dexter.  In  one  of  his  shipments  to  the  West  Indies, 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  this  picturesque  in- 
dividual included  a  consignment  of  "warming  pans," 
shallow  metal  basins  with  a  cover  and  a  long  wooden 
handle,  used  for  warming  beds  on  cold  winter  nights. 
The  basin  was  filled  with  coals  from  the  fireplace, 
and  then  moved  about  between  the  sheets  to  take 
off  the  chill.  He  was  not  a  little  ridiculed  by  his 
acquaintances  for  sending  such  merchandise  where 
it  could  not  possibly  be  needed,  but  it  is  said  that 
he  made  considerable  money  out  of  his  enterprise. 
With  the  covers  removed,  the  long-handled,  shallow 
basins  proved  admirably  adapted  for  use  in  skimming 
the  sugar  in  the  boiling-pans.  But  the  old-fashioned 
method  would  be  impossible  today. 

The  different  operations  are  too  complicated  and 
too  technical  for  more  than  a  reference  to  the  purpose 
of  the  successive  processes.  Clarification  and  evap- 
oration having  been  completed,  the  next  step  is 
crystallization,  also  a  complicated  operation.  When 
this  is  done,  there  remains  a  dark  brown  mass  con- 
sisting of  sugar  crystals  and  molasses,  and  the  next 
step  is  the  removal  of  all  except  a  small  percentage 
of  the  molasses.  This  is  accomplished  by  what  are 
called    the   centrifugals,   deep   bowls   with   perforated 


THE  STORY  OF  SUGAR  217 

walls,  whirled  at  two  or  three  thousand  revolutions 
a  minute.  This  expels  the  greater  part  of  the  molas- 
ses, and  leaves  a  mass  of  yellow-brown  crystals,  the 
coloring  being  due  to  the  molasses  remaining.  This 
is  the  raw  sugar  of  commerce.  Most  of  Cuba's 
raw  produdl  is  classed  as  "96  degree  centrifugals,'* 
that  is,  the  raw  sugar,  as  it  comes  from  the  centri- 
fugal machines  and  is  bagged  for  shipment,  is  of 
96  degrees  of  sugar  purity.  This  is  shipped  to 
market,  usually  in  full  cargo  lots.  There  it  goes  to 
the  refineries,  where  it  is  melted,  clarified,  evaporated, 
and  crystallized.  This  second  clarification  removes 
pracflically  everything  except  the  pure  crystallized 
sugar  of  the  market  and  the  table.  It  is  then  an 
article  of  daily  use  in  every  household,  and  a  subjedl 
of  everlasting  debate  in  Congress. 


XIII 

VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES 

HE  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  states  that  *' al- 
though the  fad:  has  been  controverted,  there 
cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  knowledge  of 
tobacco  and  its  uses  came  to  the  rest  of  the  world 
from  America.  As  the  continent  was  opened  up  and 
explored,  it  became  evident  that  the  consumption 
of  tobacco,  especially  by  smoking,  was  a  universal 
and  immemorial  usage,  in  many  cases  bound  up  with 
the  most  significant  and  solemn  tribal  ceremonials." 
The  name  "tobacco"  was  originally  the  name  of 
the  appliance  in  which  it  was  smoked  and  not  of 
the  plant  itself,  just  as  the  term  *' chowder"  comes 
from  the  vessel  (chaudiere)  in  which  the  compound 
was  prepared.  The  tobacco  plant  was  first  taken 
to  Europe  in  1558,  by  Francisco  Fernandez,  a  physi- 
cian who  had  been  sent  to  Mexico  by  Philip  II  to 
investigate  the  produdls  of  that  country.  The  Eng- 
lish, however,  appear  to  have  been  the  first  Euro- 
peans to  adopt  the  smoking  habit,  and  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  was  notable  for  his  indulgence  in  the  weed. 
He  is  said  to  have  called  for  a  solacing  pipe  just  before 
his  execution.  Very  soon  after  their  arrival,  in  1607, 
the   Virginia    settlers    engaged    in   the   cultivation   of 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES     219 

tobacco,  and  it  soon  became  the  most  important 
commercial  produd:  of  the  colony.  Smoking,  as 
practiced  in  this  country,  appears  to  have  been 
largely,  and  perhaps  only,  by  means  of  pipes  generally 
similar  to  those  now  in  use.  The  contents  of  ancient 
Indian  mounds,  or  tumuli,  opened  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  Iowa,  show  the  use  of  pipes  by  the 
aborigines  probably  centuries  before  the  discoveries 
by  Columbus.  Many  were  elaborately  carved  in 
porphyry  or  some  other  hard  stone,  while  others 
were  made  of  baked  clay.  Others,  many  of  them 
also  elaborately  carved  and  ornamented,  have  been 
found  in  Mexico.  Roman  antiquities  show  many 
pipes,  but  they  do  not  show  the  use  of  tobacco.  It 
is  assumed  that  they  were  used  for  burning  incense, 
or  for  smoking  some  aromatic  herb  or  hemp. 

The  first  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  plant  in 
Cuba  was  in  November,  1492,  when  Columbus, 
on  landing  near  Nuevitas,  sent  his  messengers  inland 
to  greet  the  supposed  ruler  of  a  supposed  great 
Asiatic  empire.  Washington  Irving  thus  reports 
the  story  as  it  was  told  by  Navarete,  the  Spanish 
historian.  Referring  to  those  messengers,  he  says: 
"They  beheld  several  of  the  natives  going  about  with 
firebrands  in  their  hands,  and  certain  dried  herbs 
which  they  rolled  up  in  a  leaf,  and  lighting  one  end, 
put  the  other  in  their  mouths,  and  continued  exhaHng 
and  puffing  out  the  smoke.  A  roll  of  this  kind  they 
called  a  tobacco,  a  name  since  transferred  to  the  plant 
of  which   the   rolls   were   made.     The   Spaniards,    al- 


220  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

though  prepared  to  meet  with  wonders,  were  struck 
with  astonishment  at  this  singular  and  apparently 
nauseous  indulgence."  A  few  years  later,  a  different 
method  was  reported,  by  Columbus,  as  employed 
in  Hispaniola.  This  consisted  of  inhaling  the  fumes 
of  the  leaf  through  a  Y-shaped  device  applied  to  the 
nostrils.  This  operation  is  said  to  have  produced 
intoxication  and  stupefadlion,  which  appears  to  have 
been  the  desired  result.  The  old  name  still  continues 
in  Cuba,  and  if  a  smoker  wants  a  cigar,  he  will  get 
it  by  caUing  for  a  ^'tobacco."  The  production  of 
the  plant  is,  next  to  sugar,  Cuba's  most  important 
commercial  industry.  Its  early  history  is  only  im- 
perfectly known.  There  was  probably  very  little 
commercial  producflion  during  the  i6th  Century,  for 
the  reason  that  there  was  then  no  demand  for  it. 
The  demand  came  in  the  first  half  of  the  17th  Cen- 
tury, and  by  the  middle  of  that  period  tobacco  was 
known  and  used  in  pracflically  all  civilized  countries. 
The  demand  for  it  spread  very  rapidly,  in  spite  of 
papal  fulminations  and  penal  enacflments.  For  a 
time,  in  Russia,  the  noses  of  smokers  were  cut  off. 
The  early  part  of  the  i8th  Century  saw  Cuba 
ac5lively  engaged  in  produc5lion  and  shipment.  In 
1717,  Cuba's  tobacco  was  made  a  monopoly  of  the 
Spanish  Government.  Under  that  system,  producflion 
was  regulated  and  prices  were  fixed  by  the  agents 
of  the  government,  in  utter  disregard  of  the  welfare 
of  the  producers.  As  a  result,  several  serious  riots 
occurred.     In  1723,  a  large  number  of  planters  refused 


1    5    )■>   T 
3 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES     221 

to  accept  the  terms  offered  by  the  officials,  and  de- 
stroyed the  crops  of  those  who  did  accept,  a  condition 
repeated  in  the  State  of  Kentucky  a  few  years  ago, 
the  only  difference  being  that  in  the  Cuban  experience 
the  monopolist  was  the  Government,  and  in  Ken- 
tucky it  was  a  corporation.  A  few  years  later,  in 
1734,  the  Cuban  monopoly  was  sold  to  Don  Jose 
Tallapiedra  who  contracted  to  ship  to  Spain,  annually, 
three  million  pounds  of  tobacco.  The  contradl  was 
afterward  given  to  another,  but  control  was  resumed 
by  the  Crown,  in  1760.  Finally,  in  18 17,  cultivation 
and  trade  were  declared  to  be  free,  subjedl  only  to 
taxation. 

In  time,  it  became  known  that  the  choicest  tobacco 
in  the  market  came  from  the  western  end  of  Cuba, 
from  the  Province  of  Pinar  del  Rio.  It  was  given 
a  distind:  name,  Vuelta  Ahajo,  a  term  variously  trans- 
lated but  referring  to  the  downward  bend  of  the 
secflion  of  the  island  in  which  that  grade  is  produced. 
Here  is  grown  a  tobacco  that,  thus  far,  has  been 
impossible  of  production  elsewhere.  Many  experi- 
ments have  been  tried,  in  Cuba  and  in  other  coun- 
tries. Soils  have  been  analyzed  by  chemists;  seeds 
from  the  Vuelta  Ahajo  have  been  planted;  and 
localities  have  been  sought  where  climatic  conditions 
corresponded.  No  success  has  been  attained.  Nor 
is  the  crop  of  that  region  produced  on  an  extensive 
scale,  that  is,  the  choicer  leaf.  Not  all  of  the  tobacco 
is  of  the  finest  grade,  although  most  of  it  is  of  high 
quality.     There   are  what   may  be  called   "patches" 


222  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

of  ground,  known  to  the  experts,  on  which  the  best  is 
produced,  for  reasons  not  yet  clearly  determined. 
The  fad:  is  well  known,  but  the  causes  are  somewhat 
mysterious.  Nor  does  the  plant  of  this  region  appear 
to  be  susceptible  of  improvement  through  any  mod- 
ern, scientific  systems  of  cultivation.  The  quality 
deteriorates  rather  than  improves  as  a  result  of  arti- 
ficial fertilizers.  The  people  of  the  region,  cultivating 
this  special  produdl  through  generation  after  genera- 
tion, seem  to  have  developed  a  peculiar  instindl 
for  its  treatment.  It  is  not  impossible  that  a  time 
may  come  when  scientific  soil  seledlion,  seed  seled:ion, 
special  cultivation,  irrigation,  and  other  systems, 
singly  or  in  combination,  will  make  possible  the 
producflion  of  a  standardized  high-grade  leaf  in  much 
greater  quantity  than  heretofore,  but  it  seems  little 
probable  that  anything  so  produced  will  excel  or 
even  equal  the  best  produced  by  these  expert  vegueros 
by  their  indefinable  but  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
minutest  peculiarities  of  this  peculiar  plant.  Thus 
far,  it  has  not  even  been  possible  to  produce  it  else- 
where in  the  island.  It  has  been  tried  outside  of  the 
fairly  defined  area  of  its  produdlion,  tried  by  men  who 
knew  it  thoroughly  within  that  area,  tried  from  the 
same  seed,  from  soils  that  seem  quite  the  same.  But 
all  failed.  Science  may  some  day  definitely  locate 
the  reasons,  just  as  it  may  find  the  reason  for  de- 
terioration in  the  quality  of  Cuban  tobacco  eastward 
from  that  area.  The  tobacco  of  Havana  Province 
is   excellent,   but   inferior   to   that   of  Pinar   del    Rio. 


VARIOUS   PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    223 

The  growth  of  Santa  Clara  Province  is  of  good  quality, 
but  inferior  to  that  of  Havana  Province,  while  the 
tobacco  of  eastern  Cuba  is  little  short  of  an  offence 
to  a  discriminating  taste. 

Tobacco  is  grown  from  seeds,  planted  in  specially- 
prepared  seed  beds.  Seeding  is  begun  in  the  early 
autumn.  When  the  young  plant  has  attained  a 
proper  height,  about  eight  or  ten  inches,  it  is  removed 
to,  and  planted  in,  the  field  of  its  final  growth.  This 
preliminary  process  demands  skill,  knowledge,  and 
careful  attention  equal,  perhaps,  to  the  requirements 
of  the  later  stages.  Experiments  have  been  made 
with  mechanical  appliances,  but  most  of  the  work  is 
still  done  by  hand,  particularly  in  the  area  producing 
the  better  qualities  of  leaf.  From  the  time  of  trans- 
planting, it  is  watched  with  the  greatest  care.  A 
constant  battle  is  waged  with  weeds  and  insedl  life, 
and  water  must  be  brought  if  the  season  is  too  dry. 
If  rains  are  excessive,  as  they  sometimes  are,  the 
crop  may  be  partly  or  wholly  destroyed,  as  it  was  in 
the  autumn  of  1914.  The  plant  matures  in  January, 
after  four  months  of  constant  watchfulness  and  labor, 
in  cultivation,  pruning,  and  protedlion  from  worms 
and  insedls.  When  the  leaves  are  properly  ripened, 
the  stalks  are  cut  in  sedlions,  two  leaves  to  a  sedlion. 
These  are  hung  on  poles  and  taken  to  the  drying 
sheds  where  they  are  suspended  for  three  or  more 
weeks.  The  time  of  this  process,  and  its  results, 
depend  upon  moisture,  temperature,  and  treatment. 
All    this    is    again    an    operation    demanding    expert 


224  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

knowledge  and  constant  care.  When  properly  cured, 
the  leaves  are  packed  in  bales  of  about  no  pounds 
each,  and  are  then  ready  for  the  market.  Because 
of  the  varying  conditions  under  which  the  leaf  is 
produced,  from  year  to  year,  it  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  determine  with  any  accuracy  the  increase  in  the 
industry.  Broadly,  the  output  appears  to  have  been 
pradlically  doubled  in  the  last  twenty  years,  a  growth 
attributed  to  the  new  economic  conditions,  to  the 
extension  of  transportation  facilities  that  have  made 
possible  the  opening  of  new  areas  to  cultivation,  and 
to  the  investment  of  capital,  largely  American  capital. 
The  exports  show,  generally,  a  material  increase  in 
sales  of  leaf  tobacco  and  some  decline  in  sales  of  cigars. 
The  principal  market  for  the  leaf,  for  about  85  per 
cent  of  it,  is  in  the  United  States  where  it  is  made, 
with  more  or  less  honesty,  into  "all-Havana'*  cigars. 
This  country,  however,  takes  only  about  a  third  of 
Cuba's  cigar  output.  The  United  Kingdom  takes 
about  as  much  of  that  produd:  as  we  do,  and  Ger- 
many, in  normal  times,  takes  about  half  as  much. 
The  remainder  is  widely  scattered,  and  genuine 
imported  Havana  cigars  are  obtainable  in  all  countries 
throughout  the  world.  The  total  value  of  Cuba's 
yearly  tobacco  crop  is  from  ^40,000,000  to  ^50,000,- 
000,  including  domestic  consumption  and  foreign 
trade. 

The  story  that  all  Cubans,  men  and  women  alike, 
are  habitual  and  constant  smokers,  is  not  and  never 
was  true.     Whatever  it  may  have  been  in  the  past, 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    225 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  smoking  by  women  is 
more  common  in  this  country  than  it  is  in  Cuba, 
particularly  among  the  middle  and  upper  social 
classes.  I  have  seen  many  American  and  English 
women  smoke  in  public,  but  never  a  Cuban  woman. 
Nor  is  smoking  by  men  without  its  exceptions.  I 
doubt  if  the  percentage  of  non-smokers  in  this  coun- 
try is  any  greater  than  it  is  in  the  island.  There 
are  many  Cubans  who  do  smoke,  just  as  there  are 
many  Americans,  Englishmen,  Germans,  and  Rus- 
sians. Those  who  watch  on  the  street  for  a  respe(5lable 
Cuban  woman  with  a  cigar  in  her  mouth,  or  even  a 
cigarette,  will  be  disappointed.  Cuba's  tobacco  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  region  in  which  it  is 
produced;  the  Vuelta  Aha,jo  of  Pinar  del  Rio;  the 
Partidos  of  Havana  Province;  the  Manicaragua  and 
the  Remedios  of  Santa  Clara;  and  the  Mayari  of 
Oriente.  Until  quite  recently,  when  American  organ- 
ized capital  secured  control  of  many  of  the  leading 
factories  in  Cuba,  it  was  possible  to  identify  a  cigar, 
in  size  and  shape,  by  some  commonly  employed 
name,  such  as  perfedos,  conchas,  panetelas,  imperialeSy 
londresy  etc.  The  old  names  still  appear,  but  to 
them  there  has  been  added  an  almost  interminable 
Hst  in  which  the  old  distinction  is  almost  lost.  Lost, 
too,  or  submerged,  are  many  of  the  old  well-known 
names  of  manufadlurers,  names  that  were  a  guarantee 
of  quality.  There  were  also  names  for  different 
qualities,  almost  invariably  reliable,  and  for  color 
that  was  supposed  to  mark  the  strength  of  the  cigar. 


226  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

An  accomplished  smoker  may  still  follow  the  old 
system  and  call  for  a  cigar  to  his  liking,  by  the  use 
of  the  old  terms  and  names  made  familiar  by  years 
of  experience,  but  the  general  run  of  smokers  can 
only  seledl,  from  a  hundred  or  more  boxes  bearing 
names  and  words  that  are  unfamiliar  or  unknown, 
a  cigar  that  he  thinks  looks  like  one  that  he  wants. 
It  may  be  a  ^' superba,''  an  ^HmperiaV^  a  "Wilson's 
Cabinet,"  or  a  "Havana  Kid." 

There  is  a  wide  difference  in  the  dates  given  as  the 
time  of  the  introdudlion  of  the  coffee  plant  in  Cuba. 
One  writer  gives  the  year  1720,  another  gives  1748, 
and  still  another  gives  1769.  Others  give  various 
years  near  the  end  of  the  century.  It  was  doubtless 
a  minor  industry  for  fifty  years  or  more  before  that 
time,  but  it  was  given  an  impetus  and  began  to 
assume  commercial  proportions  during  the  closing 
years  of  the  i8th  Century.  During  that  century, 
the  industry  was  somewhat  extensively  carried  on  in 
the  neighboring  island  of  Santo  Domingo.  In  1790, 
a  revolution  broke  out  in  that  island,  including  Haiti, 
and  lasted,  w4th  more  or  less  violent  activity,  for 
nearly  ten  years.  One  result  was  the  emigration 
to  Cuba  of  a  considerable  number  of  refugees,  many 
of  them  French.  They  settled  in  eastern  Cuba, 
where  conditions  for  coffee-growing  are  highly  favor- 
able. Knowing  that  industry  from  their  experience 
with  it  in  the  adjacent  island,  these  people  naturally 
took  it  up  in  their  new  home.  The  cultivation  of 
coffee  in  Cuba,  prior  to  that  time,  was  largely  in  the 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    227 

neighborhood  of  Havana,  the  region  then  of  the 
greater  settlement  and  development.  For  the  next 
forty  years  or  so,  the  industry  developed  and  coffee 
assumed  a  considerable  importance  as  an  export 
commodity,  in  addition  to  the  domestic  supply.  In 
1840,  there  were  more  than  two  thousand  coffee 
plantations,  large  and  small,  producing  more  than 
seventy  million  pounds  of  coffee,  the  greater  part  of 
which  was  exported.  From  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  the  industry  declined,  in  part  because  of 
lower  prices  due  to  increase  in  the  world-supply 
through  increased  producfhion  in  other  countries,  and 
in  part,  because  of  the  larger  chance  of  profit  in  the 
growing  of  sugar,  an  industry  then  showing  an  in- 
creased importance.  Coffee  culture  has  never  been 
entirely  suspended  in  the  island,  and  efforts  are  made 
from  time  to  time  to  revive  it,  but  for  many 
years  Cuba  has  imported  most  of  its  coffee  supply, 
the  larger  share  being  purchased  from  Porto  Rico. 
It  would  be  easily  possible  for  Cuba  to  produce  its 
entire  requirement.  There  are  few  more  beautiful 
sights  in  all  the  world  than  a  field  of  coffee  trees  in 
blossom.  One  writer  has  likened  it  to  "millions  of 
snow  drops  scattered  over  a  sea  of  green."  They 
blossom,  in  Cuba,  about  the  end  of  February  or 
early  in  March,  the  fruit  season  and  picking  coming 
in  the  autumn.  Coffee  culture  is  an  industry  re- 
quiring great  care  and  some  knowledge,  and  the  prep- 
aration of  the  berry  for  the  market  involves  no  less 
of  care   and   knowledge.     The  quality  of  the  Cuban 


228  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

berry  is  of  the  best.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  that  very  few  of  them 
really  know  anything  about  coffee  and  its  qualities, 
notwithstanding  the  fadl  that  they  consume  about 
a  billion  pounds  a  year,  all  except  a  small  per- 
centage of  it  being  coffee  of  really  inferior  quality. 
But  coffee,  like  cigars,  pickles,  or  music,  is  largely  a 
matter  of  individual  preference. 

Cuba  produces  a  variety  of  vegetables,  chiefly 
for  domestic  consumption,  and  many  fruits,  some  of 
which  are  exported.  There  is  also  a  limited  pro- 
ducftion  of  grains.  Among  the  tubers  produced  are 
sweet  potatoes,  white  potatoes,  yams,  the  arum  and 
the  yucca.  From  the  latter  is  made  starch  and  the 
cassava  bread.  The  legumes  are  represented  by 
varieties  of  beans  and  peas.  The  most  extensively 
used  food  of  the  island  people  is  rice,  only  a  little 
of  which  is  locally  grown.  The  imports  are  valued 
at  five  or  six  million  dollars  yearly.  Corn  is  grown 
in  some  quantity,  but  nearly  two  million  dollars 
worth  is  imported  yearly  from  the  United  States. 
There  are  fruits  of  many  kinds.  The  banana  is  the 
most  important  of  the  group,  and  is  grown  through- 
out the  island.  It  appears  on  the  table  of  all,  rich 
and  poor,  sometimes  au  naturel  but  more  frequently 
cooked.  There  are  many  varieties,  some  of  which 
are  exported  while  others  are  pradlically  unknown 
here.  The  Cuban  mango  is  not  of  the  best,  but  they 
are  locally  consumed  by  the  million.  Only  a  few 
of   the    best    are    produced    and    those    command    a 


PALM-THATCHED     ROOFS 
A    P  E  AS  ant's    home 


-o    C      c        I. 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    229 

fancy  price  even  when  they  are  obtainable.  The 
aguacate,  or  aUigator  pear,  is  produced  in  abundance. 
Cocoanuts  are  a  produdl  largely  of  the  eastern  end 
of  the  island,  although  produced  in  fair  supply 
elsewhere.  The  trees  are  vicftims  of  a  disastrous  bud 
disease  that  has  attacked  them  in  recent  years  causing 
heavy    loss    to    growers. 

Since  the  American  occupation,  considerable  atten- 
tion has  been  given,  mainly  by  Americans,  to  the 
produ(flion  of  oranges,  grape-fruit,  and  pineapples, 
in  which  a  considerable  industry  has  been  developed. 
There  are  several  varieties.  The  guava  of  Cuba 
makes  a  jelly  that  is  superior  to  that  produced  from 
the  fruit  in  any  other  land  of  my  experience.  If 
there  is  a  better  guava  jelly  produced  anywhere,  I 
should  be  pleased  to  sample  it,  more  pleased  to  obtain 
a  supply.  But  there  is  a  difference  in  the  produd: 
even  there,  just  as  there  is  a  difference  in  currant  or 
grape  jelly  produced  here.  It  depends  a  good  deal 
on  the  maker.  Some  of  the  best  of  my  experience 
is  made  in  the  neighborhood  of  Santa  Clara,  but  I 
have  tried  no  Cuban  jalea  de  guayaha  that  was 
not  better  than  any  I  have  had  in  the  Far  East 
or  elsewhere.  The  guanahana  is  eaten  in  its  natural 
state,  but  serves  its  best  purpose  as  a  flavor  for  ices 
or  cooling  drinks.  There  are  a  number  of  others, 
like  the  anon,  the  zapote,  the  granadilla,  the  mamey, 
etc.,  with  which  visitors  may  experiment  or  not  as 
they  see  fit.  Some  like  some  of  them  and  others 
like    none    of   them.     An    excellent    grade    of   cacao, 


230  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

the  basis  of  chocolate  and  cocoa,  is  produced  in  some- 
what Hmited  quantity.  The  industry  could  easily 
be  extended.  In  fad,  there  are  many  soil  producfls 
not  now  grown  in  the  island  but  which  might  be 
grown  there,  and  many  others  now  produced  on  small 
scale  that  could  be  produced  in  important  quantities. 
That  they  are  not  now  so  produced  is  due  to  lack  of 
both  labor  and  capital.  The  industries  of  Cuba  are, 
and  always  have  been,  specialized.  Sugar,  tobacco, 
and  at  a  time  coffee,  have  absorbed  the  capital  and 
have  afforded  occupation  for  the  greater  number  of 
the  island  people.  The  lack  of  transportation  facil- 
ities in  earlier  years,  and  the  system  of  land  tenure, 
have  made  difficult  if  not  impossible  the  estabhsh- 
ment  of  any  large  number  of  independent  small 
farmers.  The  day  laborers  in  the  tobacco  fields  and 
on  sugar  plantations  have  been  unable  to  save  enough 
money  to  buy  a  little  farm  and  equip  it  even  if  the 
land  could  be  purchased  at  all.  Yet  only  a  very 
small  percentage  of  the  area  is  adually  under  culti- 
vation. Cuba  now  imports  nearly  $40,000,000  worth 
of  alimentary  substances,  altogether  too  much  for 
a  country  of  its  productive  possibilities.  It  is  true 
that  a  part  of  this,  such  as  wheat  flour  for  instance, 
cannot  be  produced  on  the  island  successfully,  and 
that  other  commodities,  such  as  rice,  hog  produdls, 
and  some  other  articles,  can  be  imported  more 
cheaply  than  they  can  be  produced  locally.  But 
the  imports  of  foodstuffs  are  undoubtedly  excessive, 
although    there    are    good    reasons    for    the    present 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    231 

situation.     It  is   a  matter  that  will   find  adjustment 
in  time. 

The  island  has  mineral  resources  of  considerable 
value,  although  the  number  of  produdls  is  Hmited. 
The  Spanish  discoverers  did  not  find  the  precious 
metals  for  which  they  were  seeking,  and  while  gold 
has  since  been  found,  it  has  never  appeared  in 
quantity  sufficient  to  warrant  its  exploitation.  Silver 
discoveries  have  been  reported,  but  not  in  quantity 
to  pay  for  its  extradlion.  Nothing  is  ever  certain 
in  those  industries,  but  it  is  quite  safe  to  assume 
that  Cuba  is  not  a  land  of  precious  metals.  Copper 
was  discovered  in  eastern  Cuba  as  early  as  about 
the  year  1530,  and  the  mines  near  Santiago  were 
operated  as  a  Government  monopoly  for  some  two 
hundred  years,  when  they  were  abandoned.  They 
were  idle  for  about  a  hundred  years  when,  in  1830, 
an  English  company  with  a  capital  of  $2,400,000 
reopened  them.  It  is  officially  reported  that  in  the 
next  forty  years  copper  of  a  value  of  more  than 
$50,000,000  was  extracted  and  shipped.  During 
that  time,  the  mines  were  among  the  most  notable 
in  the  world.  In  the  meantime,  ownership  was  trans- 
ferred to  a  Spanish  corporation  organized  in  Havana. 
This  concern  became  involved  in  litigation  with  the 
railway  concerning  freight  charges,  and  this  experi- 
ence was  followed  by  the  Ten  Years'  War,  in  the 
early  course  of  which  the  plant  was  destroyed  and 
the  mines  flooded.  In  1902,  an  American  company 
was  organized.     It  acquired  pradlically  all  the  copper 


232  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

property  in  the  Cobre  field  and  began  operations  on 
an  extensive  and  expensive  scale.  A  huge  sum  was 
spent  in  pumping  thousands  of  tons  of  water  from  a 
depth  of  hundreds  of  feet,  in  new  equipment  for  the 
mining  operations,  and  in  the  construd:ion  of  a 
smelter.  The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  hope  that 
the  investors  will  some  day  get  their  money  back. 
Without  any  doubt,  there  is  a  large  amount  of  copper 
there,  and  more  in  other  parts  of  Oriente.  So  is 
there  copper  in  Camaguey,  Santa  Clara,  and  Matan- 
zas  provinces.  There  are  holes  in  the  ground  near 
the  city  of  Camaguey  that  indicate  profitable  opera- 
tions in  earlier  years.  The  metal  is  spread  over  a 
wide  area  in  Pinar  del  Rio,  and  venturous  spirits  have 
spent  many  good  Spanish  pesos  and  still  better  Ameri- 
can dollars  in  efforts  to  locate  deposits  big  enough  to 
pay  for  its  excavation.  Some  of  that  class  are  at 
it  even  now,  and  one  concern  is  reported  as  doing  a 
profitable   business. 

The  bitumens  are  represented  in  the  island  by 
asphalt,  a  low-grade  coal,  and  seepages  of  petroleum. 
At  least,  several  writers  tell  of  coal  in  the  vicinity 
of  Havana,  but  the  substance  is  probably  only  a 
particularly  hard  asphaltum.  The  only  real  coal 
property  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge  is  a  quite 
recent  discovery.  The  story  was  told  me  by  the 
man  whose  money  was  sought  to  develop  it.  It  was, 
by  the  way,  an  anthracite  property.  In  response 
to  an  urgent  invitation  from  a  presumably  reliable 
acquaintance,  my  friend  took  his  car  and  journeyed 


VARIOUS  PRODUCTS  AND  INDUSTRIES    233 

westward  into  Pinar  del  Rio,  through  a  charming 
country  that  he  and  I  have  many  times  enjoyed 
together.  He  picked  up  his  coal-discovering  friend 
in  the  city  of  Pinar  del  Rio,  and  proceeded  into  the 
country  to  inspedl  the  coal-vein.  At  a  number  of 
points  immediately  alongside  the  highway,  his  com- 
panion alighted  to  scrape  away  a  little  of  the  surface 
of  the  earth  and  to  return  with  a  little  lump  of  really 
high-grade  anthracite.  Such  a  substance  had  no 
proper  business  there,  did  not  belong  there  geologically 
or  otherwise.  The  explanation  soon  dawned  upon 
my  friend.  They  were  following  the  line  of  an 
abandoned  narrow-guage  railway,  abandoned  twenty 
years  ago,  along  which  had  been  dumped,  at  in- 
tervals, little  piles  of  perfectly  good  anthracite, 
imported  from  Pennsylvania,  for  use  by  the  portable 
engine  used  in  the  construdlion  of  the  road.  My 
friend  declares  that  he  is  entirely  ready  at  any  time 
to  swear  that  there  are  deposits  of  anthracite  in 
Cuba.  A  very  good  quality  of  asphalt  is  obtained 
in  different  parts  of  the  island,  and  considerable 
quantities  have  been  shipped  to  the  United  States. 
Signs  of  petroleum  deposits  have  been  strong  enough 
to  induce  investigation  and  expenditure.  An  Ameri- 
can company  is  now  at  work  drilling  in  Matanzas 
Province.  The  most  extensive  and  promising  mineral 
industry  is  iron,  especially  in  eastern  Cuba.  Millions 
of  tons  of  ore  have  been  taken  from  the  mountains 
along  the  shore  between  Santiago  and  Guantanamo, 
and   the   supply    appears    to    be    inexhaustible.     The 


234  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

produdl  is  shipped  to  the  United  States,  to  a  value 
of  several  millions  of  dollars  yearly.  A  few  years 
ago,  other  and  apparently  more  extensive  deposits 
were  discovered  in  the  northern  sed:ion  of  Oriente. 
The  field  bought  by  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company 
is  estimated  to  contain  600,000,000  tons  of  ore.  The 
Bethlehem  Steel  Company  is  the  owner  of  another 
vast  tracfl.  The  quahty  of  these  ores  is  excellent. 
In  Oriente  Province  also  are  deposits  of  manganese 
of  which  considerable  shipments  have  been  made. 

It  is  not  possible  in  so  brief  a  survey  of  Cuba's 
resources  and  industries  to  include  all  its  present  ac- 
tivities, to  say  nothing  of  its  future  possibilities.  At 
the  present  time,  the  island  is  prad:ically  an  extensive 
but  only  partly  cultivated  farm,  producing  mainly 
sugar  and  tobacco,  with  fruits  and  vegetables  as  a 
side  line.  The  metal  deposits  supplement  this,  with 
promise  of  becoming  increasingly  valuable.  The 
forest  resources,  commercially,  are  not  great,  although 
there  are,  and  will  continue  to  be,  sales  of  mahogany 
and  other  fine  hardwoods.  Local  manufacturing  is 
on  a  comparatively  limited  scale.  All  cities  and 
many  towns  have  their  artisans,  the  bakers,  tailors, 
shoemakers,  carpenters,  and  others.  Cigar  making  is, 
of  course,  classed  as  a  manufadluring  enterprise,  and 
so,  for  census  purposes,  is  the  conversion  of  the  juice 
of  the  sugar-cane  into  sugar.  A  number  of  cities 
have  breweries,  ice  fadlories,  match  fadlories,  soap 
works,  and  other  establishments  large  or  small.  All 
these,  however,  are  incidental  to  the  great  industries 


VARIOUS   PRODUCTS  AND   INDUSTRIES    235 

of  the  soil,  and  the  greater  part  of  Cuba's  require- 
ments in  the  line  of  mill  and  factory  produ(5ls  is 
imported.  While  little  is  done  in  the  shipment  of 
cattle  or  beef,  Cuba  is  a  natural  cattle  country. 
Water  and  nutritious  grasses  are  abundant,  and  there 
are  vast  areas,  now  idle,  that  might  well  be  utilized 
for  stock-raising.  There  are,  of  course,  just  as  there 
are  elsewhere,  various  difficulties  to  be  met,  but  they 
are  met  and  overcome.  There  are  insedls  and  dis- 
eases, but  these  are  controlled  by  properly  applied 
scientific  methods.  There  is  open  feeding  throughout 
the  entire  year,  so  there  is  no  need  of  barns  or  hay. 
The  local  cattle  industry  makes  possible  the  ship- 
ment of  some  ^2,500,000  worth  of  hides  and  skins 
annually.  Other  lines  of  industry  worthy  of  mention, 
but  not  possible  of  detailed  description  here,  include 
sponges,  tortoise  shell,  honey,  wax,  molasses,  and 
henequen  or  sisal.  All  these  represent  their  individual 
thousands  or  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  and 
their  employment  of  scores  or  hundreds  of  wage- 
earners.  Those  who  start  for  Cuba  with  a  notion 
that  the  Cubans  are  an  idle  and  lazy  people,  will  do 
well  to  revise  that  notion.  There  is  not  the  hustle 
that  may  be  seen  further  north,  but  the  results  of 
Cuban  adlivity,  measured  in  dollars  or  in  tons,  fairly 
dispute  the  notion  of  any  national  indolence.  When 
two  and  a  half  million  people  produce  what  is 
produced  in  Cuba,  somebody  has  to  work. 


XIV 
POLITICS,    GOVERNMENT,    AND   COMMERCE 


HE  British  colonists  in  America  were  in  large 
measure  self-governing.  This  is  notably  true 
in  their  local  affairs.  The  Spanish  colonists 
were  governed  almost  absolutely  by  the  mother- 
country.  A  United  States  official  pubhcation  re- 
ports that  **all  government  control  centred  in  the 
Council  of  the  Indies  and  the  King,  and  local  self 
government,  which  was  developed  at  an  early  stage 
in  the  English  colonies,  became  pracflically  impossible 
in  the  Spanish  colonies,  no  matter  to  what  extent 
it  may  have  existed  in  theory.  Special  regulations, 
decrees,  etc.,  modifying  the  application  of  the  laws 
to  the  colonies  or  promulgating  new  laws  were  fre- 
quent, and  their  compilation  in  1680  was  published 
as  Law  of  the  Indies.  This  and  the  Siete  Partidas, 
on  which  they  were  largely  based,  comprised  the 
code  under  which  the  Spanish-American  colonies 
were  governed."  There  was  a  paper  provision, 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  for  a  municipal 
electorate,  the  franchise  being  limited  to  a  few  of 
the  largest  tax-payers.  In  its  pradlical  operation,  the 
system  was  nullified  by  the  power  vested  in  the 
appointed  ruler.     It  was  a  highly  effective  centralized 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     237 

organization  in  which  no  man  held  office,  high  or 
low,  who  was  not  a  mere  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  the  Governor-General.  Under  such  an  institution 
the  Cubans  had,  of  course,  absolutely  no  experience 
in  self-government.  The  rulers  made  laws  and 
the  people  obeyed  them;  they  imposed  taxes  and 
spent  the  money  as  they  saw  fit;  many  of  them 
enriched  themselves  and  their  personally  appointed 
official  household  throughout  the  island,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  tax-payers. 

A  competent  observer  has  noted  that  such  terms 
as  "meeting,"  "mass-meeting,"  "self-government," 
and  "home-rule,"  had  no  equivalent  in  the  Spanish 
language.  The  first  of  these  terms,  distorted  into 
"mzto,"  is  now  in  common  use,  and  its  origin  is 
obvious.  Of  theories,  ideals,  and  intelledlual  con- 
ceptions, there  was  an  abundance,  but  government 
based  on  beautiful  dreams  does  not  succeed  in  this 
pradlical  world.  Denied  opportunity  for  free  dis- 
cussion of  pradiical  methods,  the  Cubans  discussed 
theories  in  lyceums.  Under  the  military  government 
of  the  United  States,  from  January  i,  1899,  to  May 
20,  1902,  there  was  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom 
of  organization.  The  Cubans  began  to  hold  "wx^ztzj," 
but  visions  and  beautiful  theories  chara(5terized  the 
addresses.  Prior  to  the  Ten  Years'  War  (1868-1878), 
there  were  organizations  more  or  less  political  in 
their  nature,  but  the  authorities  were  alert  in  pre- 
venting discussions  of  too  practical  a  charadler.  In 
1865,  a  number  of  influential  Cubans  organized  what 


238  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

has  been  somewhat  inappropriately  termed  a  "na- 
tional party."  It  was  not  at  all  a  party  in  our  use 
of  that  term.  Its  purpose  was  to  suggest  and  urge 
administrative  and  economic  changes  from  the 
Cuban  point  of  view.  The  suggestions  were  ignored 
and,  a  few  years  later,  revolution  was  adopted  as 
a  means  of  emphasizing  their  importance.  The 
result  of  the  Ten  Years'  War  was  an  assortment  of 
pledges  of  greater  political  and  economic  freedom. 
Much  was  promised  but  little  if  anything  was  really 
granted.  There  was,  however,  a  relaxation  of  the 
earlier  absolutism,  and  under  that  there  appeared 
a  semblance  of  party  organization,  in  the  form  of  a 
Liberal  party  and  a  Union  Constitutional  party. 
There  was  no  special  difference  in  what  might  be 
called  their  platforms.  Both  focussed,  in  a  somewhat 
general  way,  the  political  aspirations  and  the  economic 
desires  of  the  Cuban  people,  much  the  same  aspira- 
tions and  desires  that  had  been  manifested  by  com- 
plaint, protest,  and  occasional  outbreak,  for  fifty 
years.  National  independence  had  no  place  in  either. 
That  came  later,  when  an  army  in  the  field  declared 
that  if  Spain  would  not  grant  independence,  the 
island  would  be  made  so  worthless  a  possession  that 
Spain  could  not  afford  to  hold  it.  A  few  years  after 
their  organization,  the  Liberals  became  the  Cuban 
party,  and  so  remained,  and  the  Union  Constitutionals 
became  the  Spanish  party,  the  party  of  the  immedi- 
ate administration.  Later  on,  the  Liberal  party 
became  the  Autonomist  party,  but  Spain's  concession 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     239 

of  the  demands  of  that  group  came  too  late,  forced, 
not  by  the  Autonomists  but  by  the  party  of  the 
Revolution  that  swept  the  island  with  fire  and  sword 
from  Oriente  to  Pinar  del  Rio.  The  Autonomists 
sought  what  their  name  indicates;  the  Revolutionists 
demanded  and  secured  national  independence. 

Shortly  before  the  final  dispersion  of  the  Army 
of  the  Revolution,  there  was  organized  a  body  with 
the  imposing  title  of  La  Asamhlea  de  Representantes 
del  Ejercito  Cubano,  or  the  Assembly  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  Cuban  Army.  It  was  composed  of 
leaders  of  the  different  military  divisions  of  that 
army,  and  included,  as  I  recall  it,  thirty-one  members. 
This  group  made  no  little  trouble  in  the  early  days 
of  the  American  occupation.  It  gathered  in  Havana, 
held  meetings,  declared  itself  the  duly  chosen  and 
representative  agent  of  the  Cuban  people,  and  de- 
manded recognition  as  such  by  the  American  author- 
ities. Some  of  its  members  even  asserted  that  it 
constituted  a  de  fado  government,  and  held  that  the 
Americans  should  turn  the  whole  affair  over  to  them 
and  promptly  sail  away.  But  their  recognition  was 
flatly  refused  by  the  authorities.  At  the  time,  I 
supported  the  authorities  in  this  refusal,  but  after- 
ward I  felt  less  sure  of  the  wisdom  of  the  course. 
As  a  recognized  body,  it  might  have  been  useful; 
rejedled,  it  made  no  little  trouble.  Transfer  of  con- 
trol to  its  hands  was  quite  out  of  the  question,  but 
recognition  and  co-operation  might  have  proved 
helpful.     That   the    body    had    a    considerable    repre- 


240  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

sentative  quality,  there  is  no  doubt.  Later,  I  found 
many  of  its  members  as  members  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  and,  still  later,  many  of  them 
have  served  in  high  oiBcial  positions,  as  governors 
of  provinces,  members  of  Congress,  in  cabinet  and 
in  diplomatic  positions.  I  am  inclined  to  regard 
the  group  broadly,  as  the  origin  of  the  present  much 
divided  Liberal  party  that  has,  from  the  beginning 
of  definite  party  organization,  included  a  considerable 
numerical  majority  of  the  Cuban  voters.  In  the 
first  national  election,  held  December  31,  1901,  this 
group,  the  military  group,  appeared  as  the  National 
party,  supporting  Tomas  Estrada  y  Palma  as  its 
candidate.  Its  opponent  was  called  the  RepubHcan 
party.  Realizing  its  overwhelming  defeat,  the  latter 
withdrew  on  the  day  of  the  eledlion,  alleging  all 
manner  of  fraud  and  unfairness  on  the  part  of  the 
Nationals.  It  is  useless  to  follow  in  detail  the  history 
of  Cuba's  political  parties  since  that  time.  In  the 
elediion  of  1905,  the  former  National  party  appeared 
as  the  Liberal  party,  supporting  Jose  Miguel  Gomez, 
while  its  opponents  appeared  as  the  Moderate  party, 
supporting  Estrada  Palma  who,  first  eled:ed  on  what 
he  declared  to  be  a  non-partisan  basis,  had  definitely 
affiliated  himself  with  the  so-called  Moderates.  The 
election  was  a  game  of  political  crookedness  on  both 
sides,  and  the  Liberals  withdrew  on  eledlion  day.  The 
result  was  the  revolution  of  1906.  The  Liberals  split 
into  factions,  not  yet  harmonized,  and  the  Moderate 
party  became  the  Conservative  party.     By  the  fusion 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     241 

of  some  of  the  Liberal  groups,  that  party  carried  the 
election  of  1908,  held  under  American  auspices.  A 
renewal  of  internal  disorders,  a  quarrel  among  leaders, 
and  much  discontent  with  their  administrative  meth- 
ods, resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Liberals  in  the 
campaign  of  191 2  and  in  the  elecflion  of  General 
Mario  Menocal,  the  head  of  the  Conservative  ticket, 
and  the  present  incumbent. 

A  fair  presentation  of  political  conditions  in  Cuba 
is  exceedingly  difficult,  or  rather  it  is  difficult  so 
to  present  them  that  they  will  be  fairly  understood. 
I  have  always  regarded  the  establishment  of  the 
Cuban  Republic  in  1902  as  premature,  though 
probably  unavoidable.  A  few  years  of  experience 
with  an  autonomous  government  under  American 
auspices,  civil  and  not  military,  as  a  prologue  to  full 
independence,  might  have  been  the  wiser  course, 
but  such  a  plan  seemed  impossible.  The  Cubans 
in  the  field  had  forced  from  Spain  concessions  that 
were  satisfad:ory  to  many.  Whether  they  could 
have  forced  more  than  that,  without  the  physical 
assistance  given  by  the  United  States,  is  perhaps 
doubtful.  The  matter  might  have  been  determined 
by  the  grant  of  the  belligerent  rights  for  which  they 
repeatedly  appealed  to  the  United  States.  At  no 
time  in  the  entire  experience  did  they  ask  for  inter- 
vention. That  came  as  the  result  of  a  combination 
of  American  wrath  and  American  sympathy,  and 
more  in  the  interest  of  the  United  States  than  because 
of  concern  for  the  Cubans.     But,  their  vidlory  won 


242  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  Spain  expelled,  the  triumphant  Cubans  naturally- 
desired  immediate  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  vicflory. 
They  desired  to  exercise  the  independence  for  which 
they  had  fought.  Many  protests  and  not  a  few 
threats  of  trouble  attended  even  the  brief  period 
of  American  occupation.  There  was,  moreover,  an 
acute  political  issue  in  the  United  States.  The  peace 
and  order  declared  as  the  purpose  of  American  in- 
tervention had  been  established.  The  amendment 
to  the  Joint  Resolution  of  April  20,  1898,  disclaimed 
*^any  disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty, 
jurisdidlion,  or  control  over  said  Island  except  for 
the  pacification  thereof,"  etc.  The  island  was  paci- 
fied. The  amendment  asserted,  further,  the  determi- 
nation of  the  United  States,  pacification  having  been 
accomplished,  to  leave  the  government  and  control 
of  the  island  to  its  people."  There  was  no  pledge 
of  any  prolonged  course  of  education  in  principles 
and  methods  of  self-government.  Nor  did  such  edu- 
cation play  any  appreciable  part  in  the  experience 
of  the  American  military  government.  The  work 
of  the  interventors  had  been  done  in  accordance 
with  the  specifications,  and  the  Cubans  were  increas- 
ingly restless  under  a  control  that  many  of  them, 
with  no  little  reason,  declared  to  be  as  autocratic 
as  any  ever  exercised  by  Spain.  Transfer  and  de- 
parture seemed  to  be  the  politic  if  not  the  only 
course,   and  we  transferred   and   departed. 

That    these    people,     entirely    without    experience 
or  training  in  self-government,  should  make  mistakes 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     243 

was  quite  as  inevitable  as  it  is  that  a  child  in  learning 
to  walk  will  tumble  down  and  bump  its  little  nose. 
In  addition  to  the  inevitable  mistakes,  there  have 
been  occasional  instances  of  deplorable  miscondudi: 
on  the  part  of  individuals  and  of  political  parties. 
For  neither  mistakes  nor  miscondudl  can  we  criticize 
or  condemn  them  without  a  similar  criticism  or  con- 
demnation of  various  experiences  in  our  own  history. 
We  should,  at  least,  regard  them  with  charity. 
There  are,  moreover,  incidents  in  the  two  experiences 
of  American  control  of  the  island  that,  at  least, 
border  on  the  unwise  and  the  discreditable.  The 
only  issue  yet  developed  in  Cuba  is  between  good 
government  and  bad  politics.  The  first  President 
started  admirably  along  the  line  of  the  former,  and 
ended  in  a  wretched  tangle  of  the  latter,  though 
not  at  all  by  his  own  choice  or  diredlion.  Official 
pre-eminence  and  a  "government  job"  make  quite 
the  same  appeal  to  the  Cubans  that  they  do  to  many 
thousands  of  Americans.  So  do  raids  on  the  national 
treasury,  and  profitable  concessions.  We  see  these 
motes  in  Cuban  eyes  somewhat  more  clearly  than 
we  see  the  beams  in  our  own  eyes.  A  necessarily 
slow  process  of  political  education  is  going  on  among 
the  people,  but  in  the  meantime  the  situation  has 
afforded  opportunity  for  exploitation  by  an  assort- 
ment of  self-constituted  political  leaders  who  have 
adopted  politics  as  a  profession  and  a  means  of 
livelihood.  Cuba's  gravest  danger  lies  in  the  political 
domination  of  men  in  this  class.     The  present  Presi- 


244  CUBA  OLD  AND   NEW 

dent,  General  Mario  Menocal,  is  not  in  that  group. 
The  office  sought  him;  he  did  not  seek  the  office. 
Some  of  these  self-constituted  leaders  have  displayed 
a  notable  aptitude  for  political  organization,  and  it 
is  largely  by  means  of  the  many  little  local  organ- 
izations that  the  Cuban  political  game  is  played. 
Although,  I  believe,  somewhat  less  now  than  formerly, 
the  little  groups  follow  and  support  individual  leaders 
rather  than  parties  or  principles.  Parties  and  their 
minor  divisions  are  known  by  the  names  of  their 
leaders.  Thus,  while  both  men  are  nominally  of 
the  same  party,  the  Liberal,  the  adherents  of  Jose 
Miguel  Gomez,  are  known  as  Miguelistas,  and  the 
adherents  of  Alfredo  Zayas  are  known  as  Zayistas. 
Were  either  to  announce  himself  as  a  Conserva- 
tive, or  to  start  a  new  party  and  call  it  Reformist 
or  Progressive  or  any  other  title,  he  could  count 
on  being  followed  by  most  of  those  who  sup- 
ported him  as  a  Liberal.  This  is  a  condition  that 
will,  in  time,  corredl  itself.  What  the  Cuban  really 
wants  is  what  all  people  want,  an  orderly,  honest, 
and  economical  government,  under  which  he  may  live 
in  peace  and  quiet,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  labor 
without  paying  an  undue  share  of  the  fruits  to  main- 
tain his  government.  For  that  the  Cuban  people 
took  up  arms  against  Spain.  For  a  time  they  may 
be  blinded  by  the  idea  of  mere  political  independence, 
but  to  that  same  issue  they  will  yet  return  by  the 
route  of  the  ballot-box.  The  game  of  politics  for 
individual  preferment,  or  for  personal  profit,   cannot 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     245 

long  be  successfully  played  in  Cuba,  if  I  have 
rightly  interpreted  Cuban  charadler  and  Cuban 
charad:eristics. 

"We,  the  delegates  of  the  people  of  Cuba,  having 
met  in  constitutional  convention  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  and  adopting  the  fundamental  law  of  their 
organization  as  an  independent  and  sovereign  people, 
establishing  a  government  capable  of  fulfilling  its 
international  obligations,  maintaining  public  peace, 
ensuring  liberty,  justice,  and  promoting  the  general 
welfare,  do  hereby  agree  upon  and  adopt  the  follow- 
ing constitution,  invoking  the  protection  of  the 
Almighty.  Article  I.  The  people  of  Cuba  are  hereby 
constituted  a  sovereign  and  independent  State  and 
adopt  a  republican  form  of  government."  Thus 
opens  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba. 

I  recall  an  intensely  dramatic  moment  connecfted 
with  the  closing  phrase  of  the  preamble.  I  have 
used  a  translation  published  by  a  distinguished 
Cuban.  That  phrase,  in  the  original,  is  ^'  invocando 
el  favor  de  Dios,"  perhaps  more  exadly  translated 
as  "invoking  the  favor  (or  blessing)  of  God."  When 
the  Constitution  had  been  drafted  and  broadly  ap- 
proved, it  was  submitted  to  the  convention  for 
suggestion  of  minor  changes  in  verbiage.  One  of 
the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  members  of  the 
body  proposed  that  this  phrase  be  left  out.  Another 
member,  distinguished  for  his  power  as  an  orator 
and  for  his  cynicism,  in  a  speech  of  considerable 
length  set  forth  his  opinion  that  it  made  little  differ- 


246  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ence  whether  it  was  included  or  excluded.  There 
was  no  benefit  in  its  inclusion,  and  no  advantage  in 
excluding  it.  It  would  hurt  none  and  might  please 
some  to  have  it  left  in.  Immediately  across  the 
semi-circle  of  desks,  and  facing  these  two  speakers, 
sat  Senor  Pedro  Llorente,  a  man  of  small  stature, 
long,  snow-white  hair  and  beard,  and  a  nervous  and 
alert  manner.  At  times,  his  nervous  energy  made 
him  almost  grotesque.  At  times,  his  absorbed  earn- 
estness made  him,  despite  his  stature,  a  figure  of  com- 
manding dignity.  Through  the  preceding  addresses 
he  waited  with  evident  impatience.  Obtaining  recog- 
nition from  the  chairman,  he  rose  and  stood  with 
upraised  hand,  his  voice  tremulous  with  emotion,  to 
protest  against  the  proposed  measure,  declaring  "as 
one  not  far  from  the  close  of  life,  that  the  body 
there  assembled  did  not  represent  an  atheistic 
people."  The-  motion  to  strike  out  w^as  lost,  and 
the  invocation  remains. 

The  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  is  a  highly  creditable  instrument.  It 
contains  a  well-devised  Bill  of  Rights,  and  makes 
all  necessary  provision  for  governmental  organiza- 
tion and  condudt.  One  feature,  however,  seems  open 
to  criticism.  In  their  desire  to  avoid  that  form  of 
centralized  control,  of  which  they  had  somewhat  too 
much  under  Spanish  power,  the  new  institution 
provides,  perhaps,  for  too  much  local  government, 
for  a  too  extensive  provincial  and  municipal  system. 
It  has  already  fallen  down  in  some  respedls,   and  it 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     247 

has  become  necessary  to  centralize  certain  functions, 
quite  as  it  has  become  desirable  in  several  of  our 
own  matters.  Cuba  has,  perhaps,  an  undue  overload 
of  officialdom,  somewhat  too  many  public  officers, 
and  quite  too  many  people  on  its  pay-rolls.  The 
feature  of  Cuba's  Constitution  that  is  of  greatest 
interest  and  importance  to  the  United  States  is  what 
is  known  as  the  Piatt  Amendment.  The  provision 
for  a  Constitutional  Convention  in  Cuba  was  made 
in  what  was  known  as  Civil  Order  No.  301,  issued 
by  the  Military  Governor,  on  July  25,  1900.  It 
provided  for  an  election  of  delegates  to  meet  in 
Havana  on  the  first  Monday  in  November,  following. 
The  convention  was  to  frame  and  adopt  a  Constitu- 
tion and  "as  a  part  thereof,  to  provide  for  and 
agree  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  upon 
the  relations  to  exist  between  that  Government  and 
the  Government  of  Cuba,"  etc.  Against  this,  the 
Cubans  protested  vigorously.  The  United  States 
had  declared  that  "Cuba  is  and  of  right  ought  to 
be  free  and  independent. '*  The  Cubans  held,  very 
properly,  that  definition  of  international  relations  had 
no  fitting  place  in  a  Constitution  "as  a  part  thereof." 
Their  point  was  recognized  and,  under  date  of  Novem- 
ber 5,  Civil  Order  No.  310  was  modified  by  Civil 
Order  No.  455.  That  was  issued  to  the  delegates 
at  the  time  of  their  assembly.  It  declared  as  follows: 
"It  will  be  your  duty,  first,  to  frame  and  adopt  a 
Constitution  for  Cuba,  and,  when  that  has  been 
done,    to    formulate    what,    in    your    opinion,    ought 


248  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

to  be  the  relations  between  Cuba  and  the  United 
States."  Taking  this  as  their  programme,  the  dele- 
gates proceeded  to  draft  a  Constitution,  leaving  the 
matter  of  "relations''  in  abeyance  for  consideration 
at  the  proper  time.  Yet,  before  its  work  was  done, 
the  Convention  was  savagely  criticized  in  the  United 
States  for  its  failure  to  include  in  the  Constitution 
what  it  had  been  authorized,  and  virtually  instru6led, 
to  leave  out.  The  Constitution  was  completed  on 
February  ii,  1901,  and  was  duly  signed  by  the 
delegates,  on  February  21.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, on  February  11,  to  prepare  and  submit 
plans  and  proposals  regarding  the  matter  of  "rela- 
tions." Prior  to  that,  however,  the  matter  had  been 
frequently  but  informally  discussed  by  the  delegates. 
Suggestions  had  been  made  in  the  local  press,  and 
individual  members  of  the  Convention  had  expressed 
their  views  with  considerable  freedom.  Had  the 
United  States  kept  its  hands  ofF  at  that  time,  a  serious 
and  critical  situation,  as  well  as  a  sense  of  injustice 
that  has  not  yet  entirely  died  out,  would  have  been 
averted. 

Before  the  Cubans  had  time  to  put  their  "opinion 
of  what  ought  to  be  the  relations"  between  the  two 
countries  into  definite  form.,  there  was  presented  to 
them,  in  a  manner  as  needless  as  it  was  tadlless,  a 
statement  of  what  the  American  authorities  thought 
those  relations  should  be.  The  Cubans,  v>^ho  were 
faithfully  observing  their  earlier  instrudions,  were 
deeply    offended    by    this    interference,    and    by    the 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     249 

way  in  which  the  interference  came.  The  measure 
known  as  the  Piatt  Amendment  was  submitted  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  as  an  amendment  to  the 
Army  Appropriation  bill,  on  February  25,  1901. 
The  Senate  passed  the  bill,  and  the  House  concurred. 
A  storm  of  indignant  protest  swept  over  the  island. 
The  Cubans  believed,  and  not  without  reason,  that 
the  instrument  abridged  the  independence  of  which 
they  had  been  assured  by  those  who  now  sought  to 
limit  that  independence.  Public  opinion  in  the  United 
States  was  divided.  Some  approved  and  some 
denounced  the  proceeding  in  bitter  terms.  The 
division  was  not  at  all  on  party  lines.  The  situation 
in  Cuba  was  entirely  changed.  Instead  of  formulat- 
ing an  opinion  in  accordance  with  their  earlier  in- 
strucflions,  the  members  of  the  Convention  were 
confronted  by  a  choice  of  what  they  then  regarded 
as  evils,  acceptance  of  unacceptable  terms  or  an  in- 
definite continuance  of  a  military  government  then 
no  less  unacceptable.  A  commission  was  sent  to 
Washington  to  urge  changes  and  modifications.  It 
was  given  dinners,  lunches,  and  receptions,  but 
nothing  more.  At  last  the  Cubans  shrugged  their 
shoulders.  The  desire  for  an  immediate  withdrawal 
of  American  authority,  and  for  Cuban  assumption 
of  the  reins  of  government,  outweighed  the  objecflion 
to  the  terms  imposed.  A  Cuban  leader  said:  *'There 
is  no  use  in  objecting  to  the  inevitable.  It  is  either 
annexation  or  a  RepubHc  with  the  Amendment.  I 
prefer  the  latter."     After   four   months   of   stubborn 


250  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

opposition,  the  Cubans  yielded,  by  a  vote  of  sixteen 
to  eleven,  with  four  absentees. 

In  many  ways,  the  Cuban  Government  is  like  our 
own.  The  President  and  Vice-President  are  elected, 
through  an  electoral  college,  for  a  term  of  four  years. 
A  "third  term"  is  specifically  prohibited  by  the  Con- 
stitution. Senators,  four  from  each  Province,  are 
chosen,  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  by  an  eledloral  board. 
Elections  for  one  half  of  the  body  occur  every  four 
years.  The  House  is  chosen,  by  direcfl  vote,  for  terms 
of  four  years,  one  half  being  eledled  every  two  years. 
The  Cabinet,  seled:ed  and  appointed  by  the  President, 
consists  of  eight  Secretaries  of  Departments  as 
follows:  Agriculture,  Commerce,  and  Labor;  State; 
Government;  Treasury  {Hacienda);  Public  Instruc- 
tion; Justice;  Public  Works;  and  Health  and 
Charities.  There  is  a  Supreme  Court,  and  there 
are  the  usual  minor  courts.  The  Constitution  also 
makes  provision  for  the  organization  and  the  powers  of 
the  Provincial  and  Municipal  Governments.  To  the 
Constitution,  the  Piatt  Amendment  is  attached  as  an 
appendix,  by  treaty  arrangement.  As  far  as  govern- 
mental system  is  concerned,  Cuba  is  fairly  well 
equipped;  a  possible  source  of  danger  is  its  over- 
equipment. Its  laws  permit,  rather  than  require, 
an  overburden  of  officials,  high  and  low.  But  Cuba's 
governmental  problem  is  essentially  one  of  adminis- 
tration. Its  particular  obstacle  in  that  department 
is  professional  politics. 

The  whole  situation  in  Cuba  is  somewhat  peculiar. 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     251 

The  business  of  the  island,  that  is,  the  commercial 
business,  the  purchase  and  sale  of  merchandise 
wholesale  and  retail,  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  Spaniards.  The  Cuban  youths  seldom  become 
clerks  in  stores.  Most  of  the  so-called  ^^  depend- 
ientes'*  come  out  as  boys  from  Spain.  It  is  an  old 
established  system.  These  lads,  almost  invariably 
hard  workers,  usually  eat  and  sleep  in  the  place  of 
their  employment.  The  wage  is  small  but  board 
and  lodging,  such  as  the  latter  is,  are  furnished. 
They  are  well  fed,  and  the  whole  system  is  quite 
paternal.  For  their  recreation,  education,  and  care  in 
case  of  illness,  there  are  organizations,  half  club  and 
half  mutual  protective  association,  to  which  pradlically 
all  belong.  The  fee  is  small  and  the  benefits  many. 
Some  of  these  are  based  on  a  regional  plan,  that 
is,  the  Centra  de  Asturianos  is  composed  of  those  who 
come  from  the  Spanish  province  of  Asturia,  and  those 
from  other  regions  have  their  societies.  There  is 
also  a  general  society  of  '^  dependientes/'  Some  of 
these  groups  are  rich,  with  large  membership  includ- 
ing not  only  the  clerks  of  today  but  those  of  the  last 
thirty  or  forty  years,  men  who  by  diUgence  and 
thrift  have  risen  to  the  top  in  Cuba's  commercial 
life.  Most  of  Cuba's  business  men  continue  their 
membership  in  these  organizations,  and  many 
contribute  hberally  toward  their  maintenance. 

This  system  more  or  less  efFedtively  bars  Cuban 
youths  from  commercial  life.  Nor  does  commercial 
life    seem    attractive    to    more    than    a    very    limited 


252  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

number.  This  leaves  to  them,  pradically,  only- 
three  hnes  of  possible  adlivity,  the  ownership  and 
operation  of  a  plantation,  a  profession,  or  manual 
labor.  The  greater  number  there,  as  elsewhere,  are 
laborers,  either  on  some  little  bit  of  ground  they  call 
their  own  or  rent  from  its  owner,  or  they  are  employed 
by  the  proprietors  of  the  larger  estates.  Such  pro- 
prietorship is,  of  course,  open  to  only  a  few.  The 
problem,  which  is  both  social  and  political,  appears 
in  a  class  that  cannot  or  will  not  engage  in  manual 
labor,  the  well-educated  or  fairly-educated  sons  of 
men  of  fair  income  and  a  social  position.  Many  of 
these  take  some  professional  course.  But  there  is 
not  room  for  so  many  in  so  small  a  country,  and 
the  professions  are  greatly  overcrowded.  The  surplus 
either  loafs  and  lives  by  its  wits  or  at  the  expense  of 
the  family,  or  turns  to  the  Government  for  a  "job.'* 
It  constitutes  a  considerable  element  on  which  the 
aspiring  professional  politician  can  draw  for  support. 
Having  such  "jobs,"  it  constitutes  a  heavy  burden  on 
the  tax-payers;  deprived  of  its  places  on  the  Govern- 
ment pay-roll,  it  becomes  a  social  and  political 
menace.  If  a  Liberal  administration  throws  them  out 
of  their  comfortable  posts,  they  become  noisy  and 
perhaps  violent  Conservatives;  if  discharged  by  an 
economical  Conservative  administration,  they  become 
no  less  noisy  and  no  less  potentially  violent  Liberals. 
But  we  may  not  criticize.  The  American  control 
that  followed  the  insurred:ion  of  1906  set  no  example 
in  administrative  economy  for  the  Cubans  to  follow. 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     253 

The  produdlive  industries  of  the  island  have  already 
been  reviewed  in  other  chapters.  The  development 
of  Cuba's  commerce  since  the  withdrawal  of  Spain, 
and  the  substitution  of  a  modern  fiscal  policy  for  an 
antiquated  and  indefensible  system,  has  been  notable. 
It  is,  however,  a  mistake  to  contrast  the  present 
condition  with  the  condition  existing  at  the  time  of 
the  American  occupation,  in  1899.  The  exadl  ac- 
curacy of  the  record  is  questionable,  but  the  returns 
for  the  year  1894,  the  year  preceding  the  revolution, 
show  the  total  imports  of  the  island  as  $77,000,000, 
and  the  total  exports  as  $99,000,000.  The  probabil- 
ity is  that  a  proper  valuation  would  show  a  consid- 
erable advance  in  the  value  of  the  imports.  The 
statement  of  export  values  may  be  accepted.  It 
may  be  assumed  that  had  there  been  no  disorder, 
the  trade  of  the  island,  by  natural  growth,  would 
have  reached  $90,000,000  for  imports  and  $120,000,- 
000,  for  exports,  in  1900.  That  may  be  regarded  as 
a  fair  normal.  As  it  was,  the  imports  of  that  year 
were  $72,000,000,  and  the  exports,  by  reason  of  the 
general  wreck  of  the  sugar  business,  were  only 
$45,000,000.  With  peace  and  order  fairly  assured, 
recovery  came  quickly.  The  exports  of  1905,  at 
$99,000,000,  equalled  those  of  1894,  while  the  im- 
ports materially  exceeded  those  of  the  earlier  year. 
In  191 3,  the  exports  reached  $165,207,000,  and  the 
imports  $132,290,000.  This  growth  of  Cuba's  com- 
merce and  industry  is  due  mainly  to  the  economic 
requirements    of    the    American    people.     We    need 


254  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Cuba's  sugar  and  we  want  its  tobacco.  These  two 
commodities  represent  about  90  per  cent,  of  the 
total  exports  of  the  island.  We  buy  nearly  all  of  its 
sugar,  under  normal  conditions,  and  about  60  per 
cent,  of  its  tobacco  and  cigars.  On  the  basis  of  the 
total  commerce  of  the  island,  the  records  of  recent 
years  show  this  country  as  the  source  of  supply  for 
about  53  per  cent,  of  Cuba's  total  imports,  and  as  the 
market  for  about  83  per  cent,  of  its  exports.  A  com- 
parison of  the  years  1903  and  191 3  shows  a  gain  of 
about  $87,000,000  in  Cuba's  total  exports.  Of  this, 
about  $75,000,000  is  represented  by  sugar.  The 
crop  of  1894  a  little  exceeded  a  million  tons.  Such  a 
quantity  was  not  again  produced  until  1903.  With 
yearly  variations,  due  to  weather  conditions,  later 
years  show  an  enormous  and  unprecedented  in- 
crease. The  crops  of  191 3  and  1914  were,  approx- 
imately, 2,500,000  tons  each.  The  tobacco  industry 
shows  only  a  modest  gain.  The  average  value  of 
the  exports  of  that  commodity  has  risen,  in  ten 
years,  from  about  $25,000,000  to  about  $30,000,000. 
The  increase  in  the  industry  appears  largely  in  the 
shipment  of  leaf  tobacco.  The  cigar  business  shows 
pradically  no  change,  in  that  time,  as  far  as  values 
are  concerned.  This  resume  affords  a  fair  idea  of 
Cuba's  trade  expansion  under  the  conditions  estab- 
lished through  the  change  in  government.  That 
event  opened  new  and  larger  doors  of  opportunity, 
and  the  Cubans  and  others  have  been  prompt  in 
taking  advantage  of  them.     Toward  the  great  increase 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     255 

shown,  two  forces  have  operated  efFecftively.  One  is 
the  treaty  by  which  the  provisions  of  the  so-called 
Piatt  Amendment  to  the  Cuban  Constitution  are 
made  permanently  efFedlive.  The  other  is  the 
reciprocity  treaty  of  1903. 

By  the  operation  of  the  former  of  these  instruments 
the  United  States  virtually  underwrites  the  political 
stability  and  the  financial  responsibility  of  the  Cuban 
Government.  That  Government  cannot  borrow  any 
important  sums  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States,  and  it  has  agreed  that  this  country  "may 
exercise  the  right  to  intervene  for  the  preservation 
of  Cuban  independence,  the  maintenance  of  a  govern- 
ment adequate  for  the  protecfhion  of  life,  property, 
and  individual  liberty,  and  for  discharging  the 
obligations  with  respedl  to  Cuba  imposed  by  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  on  the  United  States."  This  assump- 
tion of  responsibility  by  the  United  States  inspired 
confidence  on  the  part  of  capital,  and  large  sums 
have  been  invested  in  Cuban  bonds,  and  in  numerous 
public  and  private  enterprises.  Railways  and  trolley 
lines  have  been  built  and  many  other  works  of  public 
utility  have  been  undertaken.  The  adlivities  of  old 
sugar  plantations  have  been  extended  under  improved 
conditions,  and  many  new  estates  with  costly  modern 
equipment  have  been  created.  The  cultivation  of 
large  areas,  previously  lying  waste  and  idle,  afforded 
both  diredly  and  indiredly  employment  for  an 
increased  population,  as  did  the  numerous  public 
works.     The   other    force,   perhaps   no    less    efFedlive, 


256  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

appears  in  the  reciprocity  treaty  of  1903.  This  gave 
to  Cuba's  most  important  crop  a  large  though  by 
no  means  absolute  control  of  the  constantly  increasing 
sugar  market  of  the  United  States,  as  far  as  competi- 
tion from  other  foreign  countries  was  concerned.  The 
sugar  industry  of  the  island  may  be  said  to  have 
been  restored  to  its  normal  proportions  in  1903.  Our 
imports  for  the  five-year  period  1904-1908  averaged 
1,200,000  tons  a  year.  For  the  five-year  period 
1910-1914  they  averaged  1,720,000  tons.  In  1914, 
they  were  2,200,000  tons  as  compared  with  1,260,000 
tons  in  1904.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  treaty  had  any 
appreciable  influence  on  the  exports  of  Cuban 
tobacco  to  this  country.  We  buy  Cuba's  special 
tobacco  irrespective  of  a  custom-house  advantage 
that  aff'ecfls  the  box  price  only  a  little,  and  the  price 
of  a  single  cigar  probably  not  at  all.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  account,  that  of  our  sales  to  Cuba,  there 
also  appears  a  large  increase  since  the  application  of 
the  reciprocity  treaty.  Using  the  figures  showing 
exports  from  the  United  States  to  Cuba,  instead  of 
Cuba's  records  showing  imports  from  this  country, 
it  appears  that  our  sales  to  the  island  in  the  fiscal 
year  1903,  immediately  preceding  the  operation  of 
the  treaty,  amounted  to  $21,761,638.  In  the  fiscal 
year  1913  they  were  $70,581,000,  and  in  1914  were 
$68,884,000. 

Not  all  of  this  quite  remarkable  gain  may  properly 
be  credited  to  the  influence  of  the  reciprocity  treaty. 
The  purchases  of  the  island  are  determined,  broadly, 


POLITICS,  GOVERNMENT,  COMMERCE     257 

by  its  sales.  As  the  latter  increase,  so  do  the  former. 
Almost  invariably,  a  year  of  large  export  sales  is 
followed  by  a  year  of  heavy  import  purchases.  The 
fa(fl  that  our  imports  from  Cuba  are  double  our  sales 
to  Cuba,  in  the  total  of  a  period  of  years,  has  given 
rise  to  some  foolish  criticism  of  the  Cubans  on  the 
ground  that,  we  buying  so  heavily  from  them,  they 
should  purchase  from  us  a  much  larger  percentage 
of  their  import  requirements.  No  such  obligation  is 
held  to  exist  in  regard  to  our  trade  with  other  lands, 
and  it  should  have  no  place  in  any  consideration  of 
our  trade  with  Cuba.  There  are  many  markets, 
like  Brazil,  British  India,  Japan,  China,  Mexico,  and 
Egypt,  in  which  our  purchases  exceed  our  sales. 
There  are  more,  like  the  United  Kingdom,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Canada,  Central  America,  and 
numerous  others,  in  which  our  sales  considerably  or 
greatly  exceed  our  purchases.  We  do  not  buy  from 
them  simply  because  they  buy  from  us.  We  buy 
what  we  need  or  want  in  that  market  in  which  we 
can  buy  to  the  greatest  advantage.  The  Cuban 
merchants,  who  are  nearly  all  Spaniards,  do  the 
same.  The  notion  held  by  some  that,  because  of  our 
service  to  Cuba  in  the  time  of  her  struggle  for  na- 
tional life,  the  Cubans  should  buy  from  us  is  both 
foolish  and  altogether  unworthy.  Any  notion  of 
Cuba's  obligation  to  pay  us  for  what  we  may  have 
done  for  her  should  be  promptly  dismissed  and 
forgotten.  There  are  commodities,  such  as  lumber, 
pork    produdls,    coal,    wheat    flour,    and    mineral    oil 


258  CUBA  OLD  AND  NEW 

produces,  that  Cuba  can  buy  in  our  markets  on 
terms  better  than  those  obtainable  elsewhere.  Other 
commodities,  such  as  textiles,  leather  goods,  sugar 
mill  equipment,  railway  equipment,  drugs,  chemicals, 
and  much  else,  must  be  sold  by  American  dealers 
in  sharp  competition  with  the  merchants  of  other 
countries,  with  such  assistance  as  may  be  afforded 
by  the  reciprocity  treaty.  That  instrument  gives 
us  a  custom-house  advantage  of  20,  25,  30,  and  40 
per  cent,  in  the  tariff  rates.  It  is  enough  in  some 
cases  to  give  us  a  fair  equality  with  European  sellers, 
and  in  a  few  cases  to  give  us  a  narrow  margin  of 
advantage  over  them.  It  does  not  give  us  enough 
to  compel  Cuban  buyers  to  trade  with  us  because 
of  lower  delivered   prices. 

Cuba's  economic  future  can  be  safely  predidled  on 
the  basis  of  its  past.  The  pace  of  its  development 
will  depend  mainly  upon  a  further  influx  of  capital 
and  an  increase  in  its  working  population.  Its 
political  future  is  less  certain.  There  is  ample  ground 
for  both  hope  and  belief  that  the  little  clouds  that 
hang  on  the  political  horizon  will  be  dissipated,  that 
there  will  come,  year  by  year,  a  sane  adjustment  to 
the  new  institutions.  But  full  assurance  of  peace 
and  order  will  come  only  when  the  people  of  the 
island,  whether  planters  or  peasants,  see  clearly  the 
difference  between  a  government  conducted  in  their 
interest  and  a  government  condudled  by  Cubans 
along  Spanish  lines. 


INDEX 


Adams,  President  John,  127 
Angulo,  Governor  de,  59 
Animals,  wild,  50 
Asphalt,  232,  233 
Autonomy,  143,  178 

B 

Babeque,  6,  7 

Bacon,  Hon.  Robert,  160 

Bacon's  Rebellion,  144 

Ballou,  M.  M.,  31,  32,  71 

Banes,  113 

Baracoa,  12,  91,  100,  114 

Batabano,  12,  116 

Baths,  52 

Bellamar,  Caves  of,  42,  no 

Belligerent    rights,    136,    140, 

158,  181 
Bermuday  189,   197 
Bertram,  Luis,  14 
Betancourt,  Salvador   Cisneros, 
Black  Eagle  conspiracy,  147 
Black  Warrior,  131 
Blanco,  General  Ramon,  178 
Bolivia,  126 

Bolivar,  Simon,  124,  185 
Bonds,  Cuban,  175 
Boston  sugar  plantation,  113 
Buchanan,  President,  130 


Cabana,  57,  60 
Cabinet,  Cuban,  250 


57, 


74 


Cabrera,  Raimundo,  135 

Cadiz,  20 

Caibarien,  102 

Callahan,  James  M.,  125,  139,  152 

Camaguey,  city,  105,  no,  in 

Camaguey,  province,  40,  109 

Cardenas,  loi 

Casa  de  Beneficencia,  24 

Castillo  del  Principe,  57,  60,  71,  83 

Cathay,  3 

Cathedral,  Havana,  63 

Cattle,  17,  235 

Cauto  river,  43 

Caves,  42 

Cemetery,  Colon,  83 

Census  Reports,  United  States,  27, 

35,  44,  144,  236 
Cespedes,  Carlos  Manuel,  154,  155 
Channing,  Edward,  142,  143 
Chaparra  sugar  plantation,  113 
Ciego  de  Avila,  106 
Cienaga  de  Zapata,  43,  51 
Cienfuegos,  102 
Cigars,  224,  225,  254 
Cipango,  2,  5 
Clerks'  Associations,  251 
Climate,  45  et  seq. 
Coal,  232 

Coffee,  23,  36,  226,  et  seq. 
Colonies,    American    in    Cuba,    12, 

120 
Colonies,  British,  19,  236 
Colonies,  Spanish,  19,  21,   123,  126 
Columbia,  124,  145 


26o 


INDEX 


Columbus,  Christopher 

Death  and  remains,  63 

Describes  Cuba,  3,  4,  7 

Discovers  Cuba,  2 

Extra(ft  from  journal,  2 

Letter  to  Sanchez,  3 

Memorial  to,  64 

Mistaken  belief,  2,  3,  5,  8 

Report  to  Spanish  sovereigns,  7 

Second  expedition,  7 
Commerce,  21,  22,  35,  36,  156,  253, 

254.  257 

Commodore,  193,  195,  197 

Constitutional  Convention,  247 

Constitution,  Cuban,  154,  245,  246 

Constitution,  Spanish,  29,  145,  159 

Copper,  231,  232 

Cordoba,  de,  12 

Cortes,  Hernan,  13,  58 

Cortes,  Spanish,  29,  176 

Crittenden,  Col.,  150 

Cuba: 

Aborigines,    14,    15.     Advice    to 
visitors,    55.     American    attitude 
toward,   135,  137,  140.     Annexa- 
tion proposed,    125  et  seq.     Ani- 
mals,  wild,   49.     Area,   37.     Cli- 
mate and  temperature,  45  et  seq 
Colonized,     12.     Commerce,     21 
22,   35,   36,    156,   253,   254,   257 
Conquest  by  Velasquez,  11.     De- 
scribed   by   Columbus,   3,    4,    7 
Description,    general,    37    et    seq 
Discovered,  2.     Expeditions  from 
13,   14.     Flora,  48.     Forests,  49 
Future     of,     258.     Inseds,     51 
Intervention    by    United    States 
25,     160,     182,     242.       Mineral 
springs,   52.     Monopolies   in,   20. 
144,  220,  231.     Monroe  Dodrine; 
127.     Nineteenth    Century,    142 
Population,  17,  23,  34.     Railways 


89,  91.  Relations  with  United 
States,  122  et  seq.,  247,  248. 
Republic  of,  182.  Revolutions, 
141  et  seq.  Roads,  87,  95,  96. 
Self-government,  243.  Slavery  in, 
15,  16,  23,  125,  14s,  155.  Span- 
ish Governors,  24,  32.  Span- 
ish policy  in,  17,  19  et  seq.  24,  31. 
Trade  restridions,  20,  21,  24,  25, 
30,  Taxation,  Spanish,  24,  27, 
28,  30.  Villages,  85,  93,  94, 
100 

Cuba  and  the  Intervention,  154,  164 

Cushing,  Caleb,  138 

Custom  house,  62 

D 

Dauntless,  193,  194,  197,  199,  2Cxd 
Delicias    sugar    plantation,     113 
Dexter,  Lord  Timothy,  216 
Domestic  life,  80 


Earthquakes,  53 
Eledlions,  240,  250 
Elson,  Henry  William,  186 
England,  19,  128,  130,  139,  145 
Everett,  Alexander  H.,  130 


Filibustering  expeditions,   148  et 

seq.,  184  et  seq. 
Firemen,  83 
Fish,  Secretary,  157 
Flora,  48 
Florida,  13 
Forests,  48,  49 
Fortifications,  59,  60 
France,  128,  145 
Fritot,  Alphonso,  196,  199 
Fruits,  5,  229 
Fuerza,  la,  17,  58,  59 


INDEX 


261 


Garcia,  General  Calixto,  84,  190 

Geerligs,  H.  C.  Prinsen,  206 

Gibara,  112 

Gold,  2,  6,  23 1 

Gomez,  General  Maximo,  84,  158, 
164,  172,  174.  Proclamations, 
167  et  seq. 

Government,  250 

Grant,  President,  135  et  seq. 

Guane,  loi 

Guantanamo,  91,  115 

Guines,  90 

H 

Haiti,  9,  10,  144 

Harbors,  44 

Hart,  John  D.,  191,  197 

Hatuey,  8  et  seq. 

Havana: 

Bells,  church,  65.  British  occu- 
pation, 20.  Capital,  20,  59. 
Cathedral,  63.  Changes  in,  66, 
67,  82,  85.  Commerce  limited 
to,  20.  Destroyed,  17,  58,  59. 
Discovered,  12,  57.  Early  condi- 
tions, 61.  Excursions  from,  97 
et  seq.  Firemen,  83.  Fortifica- 
tions, 59,  60.  Homes  in,  77  et 
seq.  Las  Casas  as  governor,  24. 
Market,  fish,  74.  Name,  origin 
of,  58.  New  City,  70  et  seq. 
Old  city,  54  et  seq.  Parks,  70,  71. 
Paseo,  75.  Public  buildings,  62 
etseq.  Sanitation  of,  63.  Settled 
12,58.  Shopping  in,  68.  Streets 
61,  71.  Suburbs,  85.  Sunrise 
in  harbor,  54.  Theatre,  Nacional, 
yi  et  seq. 

Havana,  province,  38,  41 

Hayes,  President,  136 

Hazard,  Samuel,  33,  65,  iii 

Henry,  Patrick,  143 


Heredia,  Jose  Maria,  146 

Hill,  Robert  T.,  39,  48 

Holguin,  113 

Hotels,  91,  III 

Homes,  77  et  seq. 

Humboldt,  Baron  Alexander,  8,  14, 

I5>  16,  35,  53 
Hurricanes,  53 

I 
Imports  and  Exports,  253,  256 
Independence,  162  et  seq. 
Insed  life,  51 

Intervention,  First,  25,  182,  242 
Intervention,  Second,  160 
Iron  ore,  233,  234 
Irving,  Washington,  4,  5,  6 
Isle  of  Pines,  8,  116,  117  et  seq. 

J 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  122 

Joint  Resolution  of  1898,  242 

Jolo,  54 

Juana,  2,  4 

Jucaro,  106 

Junta,  164,  174,  188 

K 

Kimball,  R.  B.  32 


Las  Casas,  Bartolome,  9,  14 
Las  Casas,  Governor  Luis  de,  24 
Laurada,  193  et  seq. 
Lemus,  Jose  Francisco,  146 
Llorente,  Pedro,  246 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  123 
Lopez,  Narciso,  148  et  seq. 
Ludlow,  General  William,  63 

M 
Maceo,  General  Antonio,  99,   164, 

172,  174 
McKinley,  President,  122,  178,  179 


262 


INDEX 


158, 


Magoon,  Charles  E.,  160 

Maine,  battleship,  179 

Maisi,  Cape,  7,  8,  38,  115 

Malecon,  75 

Manufadlures,  234 

Marti,  Jose,  164,  166 

Marti,  the  smuggler,  72  et  seq. 

Martinez    Campos,     General 
165,  166,  177. 

Maso,  Bartolome,  165,  174 

Massachusetts  rebellion,  144 

Matanzas,  city,  41,  loi 

Matanzas,  province,  41 

Menocal,  General  Mario,  241,  244 

Mexico,  13,  58,  124,  145 

Minerals,  23 1  et  seq 

Mineral  springs,  52 

Miranda,  Francisco,  126,  185 

Monopolies,  20,  144,  220,  231. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  127 
Monroe,  President,  129 
Monuments: 

Firemen's,  83,  84 
Students',  84 
Moret  law,  16 
Morgan,  Henry,  no 
Morro  Castle,  17,  57,  59,  60 
Mountains,  5,  41,  93 
Murielo,  13 

N 
Narva  EZ,  13 

Navigation  acts,  British,  19,  144 
Nelson,  Hugh,  127 
Nipe  Bay,  2,91,  113,  114 
Nuevitas,  2,  3,  no,  in,  112 
Nunez,    General    Emilio,    191, 
199 

O 
O'Brien,  "Dynamite  Johnny," 

et  seq. 
Ocampo,  Sebastian  de,  8,  12,  c^j 
Oriente,  province,  40,  41 


192, 


Ostend  Manifesto,  133 
Otis,  James,  143 

P 

Palace,  Governor's,  64 

Palma,  Tomas  Estrada  y,  162,  174, 

192 
Palms,  5,  7,  48,  49 
Panama  Congress  (1826),  126 
Parks,  Havana,  70,  71 
Parties,    Political,    159,    176,    237, 

238,  240,  244 
Pearcy  v.  Stranahan,  120 
Pepper,  Charles  M.,  105,  134,  152, 

176 
Petroleum,  233 

Pierce,  President,  130,  132,  151 
Pinar  del  Rio,  city,  loi 
Pinar  del  Rio,  province,  41 
Piatt  Amendment,  118,  247  et  seq.y 

255 
Politics,  252 
Polk,  President,  130 
Ponce  de  Leon,  13 
Population,  14,  17,  23,  34 
Porto  Rico,  118 
Prado,  71,  75 

Preston  sugar  plantation,  113 
Puerto  de  Catenas,  12,  57 
Puerto  Principe,  see  Camaguey 
Punta,  la,  17 

Q 

Quitman  expedition,  151 


Railways,  89,  91 

Rainfall,  46 

Real  estate  speculation,  120 

Reciprocity  treaty,  255,  258 

Reconcentration,  177 

"Relations,"  question  of,  247,  248 

Remedies,  102 


INDEX 


263 


Revolutions,  19,  141  et  seq. 

of  1868,  153  <?/  seq. 

of  1895,  162  et  seq. 

of  1906,  159,  160 
Rhodes,  James  Ford,  131 
Rivers,  43  44 
Roads,  87,  95,  96 
Rubens,  Horatio,  S.,  165,  181,  191, 

192,  195 
Ruskin,  John,  56 


Saco,  Antonio,  31 

Sagua  la  Grande,  loi 

Sanchez,  Rafael,  3 

Sancli  Spiritus,  12,  91,  104 

Santa  Clara,  city,  102 

Santa  Clara,  province,  40 

Santangel,  Luis  de,  4 

Santiago  de  Cuba,  12,   13,  20,  115, 

116 
Santo  Domingo,  7 
Seville,  20 

Slavery,  15,  16,  23,  125,  145,  155 
SmuggUng,  21,  26 
Snakes,  50 

Sociedad  Economica,  24 
Sociedad  Patriotica,  24 
Soles  de  Bolivar,  146 
Soto,  Hernando  de,  13,  14,  17,  58 
Soule,  Pierre,  132,  133 
Spain,  17,  19,  24,  29,  123  et  seq.,  145, 

236 
Spanish-American  independence,  126 
Sugar,  113,  203  et  seq. 

Beet  sugar,  208 

Countries  producing,  209 

History,  207 

In  Cuba,  210 

Manufaclure  of,  204,  213 

Muscovado,  205 

Origin  of,  206 


Planting  and  cutting,  213  et  seq. 
Produdion  of,  209,  254,  256 
Supreme  Court,  United  States,  120 


Tacon,   Governor   Miguel,   32,    33, 

70,  71  et  seq. 
Taft,  Hon.  William  H.,  99,  160 
Tariff,  Spanish,  21,  25 
Taxes,  24,  27,  30,  163 
Taylor,  President,  148 
Teller  Amendment,  182 
Temperance  question,  76 
Temperature,  45  et  seq. 
Templete,  el,  64 
Ten  Years'  War,  16,  134,  135  et  seq., 

ISS  et  seq. 
Thrasher,  J.  S.,  15,  29 
Three  Frie?ids,  193  et  seq. 
Tillie,  wreck  of  the,  210 
Times,  New  York,  150 
Tobacco,  36,  102,  221,  222 

Cultivation  in  Cuba,  223 

History,  219  et  seq. 

Origin,  218 

Use  in  Cuba,  225 
Trade  restricted,  20,  24,  25,  30 
Transportation,  90 
Treaty  of  Paris,  118,  182 
Trinidad,  12,  91,  100,  103 
TurnbuU,  David,  25 

U 
United  States: 

Diplomatic    correspondence,    125 

et  seq. 
Mediation  offered,  156 
Presidential   messages,    125,    135, 

136,    137,    158,    178,    179,    180, 

184 
Relations  with  Cuba,  122  et  seq., 

179 


264 


Valmaseda  proclamation,  156 

Varona,  Enrique  Jose,  153 

Vedado,  el,  82 

Vegetable  produds,  228  et  seq. 

Velasquez,  8,  58 

Villages,  85,  93 

Virginius  affair,  116,  137,  185 

Volantes,  88 


INDEX 


w 


Welles,  Gideon,  186 

Weyler,,  General  Valeriano,  177,  198 

Wilson,  Henry,  125 

Y 

YuMURi  valley,  41 

Z 

Zanjon,  treaty  of,  158 


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